Demand for plastics and rubber machinery is set to grow by three per cent a year on average over the 2014-2016 period worldwide.
This is according to a trend report commissioned by the VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association - a first for the group - looking at how the industry is speeding up and expanding across the global platform.
The VDMA also made a forecast for manufacturers within the European Union. As 2014 draws to a close, the organisation predicts that sales will be down by two per cent, as the continent continues to feel the affects of the economic downturn and eurozone crisis, but from that low base the VDMA envisages two per cent positive growth for 2015.
In October 2014, the sales in Germany - the industrial heartland of the EU - were forecast to show a one per cent decline in the current year, but in 2015 German machinery demand will be up by four per cent.
Europe's plastics and rubber machinery manufacturing countries - along with China - account for almost three quarters of global production. The main sales markets are China and the US which account for almost one-quarter of worldwide deliveries of these machines. If the EU is included in this figure, it brings the number to almost half (47 per cent) of global deliveries.
China, the US and the recovering European markets are set to have a positive impact on global plastics and rubber machinery demand in 2015, but the VDMA's forecast remains cautious in its predictions.
