Capacity Utilization Rates for Plastics Processors Rising
Every month, the Federal Reserve Board compiles and reports data that measures the activity levels of U.S. plastics processors. One of the data series is the industrial production index for plastics products and the other is the capacity utilization rate for U.S. plastics and rubber processors. Both are crucial for moldmakers because they are good indicators of how fast the industry is growing (or contracting), and when new capacity needs to be added in order to keep up with rising demand.