Plastic and Rubber Products Manufacturing

The US plastic and rubber products manufacturing industry includes about 10,000 companies with combined annual revenue of $200 billion. Major companies include Berry Plastics, Goodyear, Newell Rubbermaid, Pactiv, and Tupperware. The fragmented industry has hundreds of niches, determined by material type, manufacturing process, and end-use.

Tire manufacturers, which are included in the industry, are covered in a separate profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Because plastic products are widely used in industry and as consumer products, demand depends on the health of the US economy. The profitability of individual companies depends on product mix and production efficiency. Large companies have economies of scale in buying raw materials and in manufacturing commodity products such as bottles and plastic film. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major products include plastic bags and bottles, plastic film and sheets, plastic pipe and foams, rubber hoses, and tires. Plastic products account for 80 percent of industry revenue.

Plastics and rubber have a wide range of physical properties, making them suitable for different uses. Most producers specialize in a few product lines, as the equipment and tooling needed to manufacture to customer specifications can be expensive. The typical manufacturer has a single plant and fewer than 100 employees.

Injection and compression molding are the principal methods of plastic processing. In injection molding, plastic material is put into a hopper that feeds into a heated injection unit. The heat softens the plastic into ...