Economic Reports

PMMI How’s Business Quarterly, 3rd Quarter 2017, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines manufacturing and macroeconomic trends affecting production, demand and business confidence in the third quarter of 2017. Using government and industry sources such as ISM, BLS, the Conference Board and sector surveys, the analysis indicates evolving demand and production dynamics, labor and recruiting pressures, and pricing and trade headwinds. Focus areas include demand and shipments versus backlog and durable-goods orders; workforce strategy spanning hiring, wages and recruiting difficulty; and pricing signals and global trade shifts, with charts highlighting benchmarked quarter-to-quarter comparisons. The report reveals where manufacturing leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

U.S. Packaging Machinery Purchasing Index, 2nd Quarter 2017, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines U.S. end‑user investment intentions and project status from an April–May 2017 online survey of packaging decision‑makers, using diffusion indices benchmarking Q2 2017 to prior quarters and scheduled projects. The analysis indicates overall growth with segment dispersion; focus areas include spending trends and benchmarks (including Chemicals, Durables/Industrial and Beverage), project execution and schedule risk (initial projects largely maintained), and business‑condition implications for 2018. Emerging patterns show softened activity in Personal Care alongside accelerating pockets in Chemicals, and charts highlight comparative spreads and schedule outcomes. Download the full report to see where engineering teams are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

Quarterly Economic Outlook: Planning for 3rd Quarter 2017, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines current industrial-production and macroeconomic conditions using data through April 2017 and recent Federal Reserve Board revisions. The analysis indicates evolving business-cycle phases and sectoral performance, with focus areas including industrial production and cycle management, regional market outlooks and comparative benchmarks, and supply-chain, inventory, and capital-investment planning. Emerging patterns show sector dispersion—such as food and beverages, chemicals, and durables—and regional contrasts across North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia; charts highlight trend trajectories and benchmark comparisons. Download the full report to see where companies are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

PMMI How’s Business Quarterly, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines manufacturing and macroeconomic signals for the second quarter of 2017 using industry surveys, government releases and PMMI member feedback. The analysis indicates shifting demand and production dynamics, cost and inflation pressures, and workforce and productivity challenges; key focus areas include demand versus capacity (new orders, shipments, backlog), input-cost trends and pricing, and talent attraction and retention. Emerging patterns show regional and cross-sector variation when benchmarked against prior quarters and comparable indices, and charts highlight mixed signals across indicators such as ISM and employment data. Download the full report to see where leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

Quarterly Economic Outlook: Planning for 2nd Quarter 2017, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines near‑term economic conditions and sector‑level production trends to inform member planning, drawing on industrial production indexes, ITR leading indicators, and regional datasets through early 2017. The analysis indicates the US is on the upside of the cycle and emerging patterns generally show expanding activity across core segments; focus areas include macro and sector outlook (from pharmaceuticals to food and beverages), operational readiness—capacity, capital investment, workforce development and retention—and regional market dynamics and trade benchmarks. Charts highlight shifting momentum and comparative performance across regions. The report reveals where packaging and processing leaders are prioritizing investments to capture near‑term growth opportunities.

PMMI How's Business Quarterly 1st Quarter 2017, published by PMMI - The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines macroeconomic and manufacturing trends across late 2016 into early 2017 using public economic releases and industry surveys such as the ISM, BLS, Conference Board, NAM, and SHRM. The analysis indicates shifting demand and price pressures, trade and regulatory risk, and evolving capital-spending patterns; focus areas include macro indicators and price dynamics, manufacturing output and investment, labor and productivity pressures, and trade and confidence, illustrated through charts that highlight order, inventory, and hiring patterns. The report reveals where manufacturers are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

1st Quarter 2017 Purchasing Index, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines U.S. end-user packaging machinery spending in Q1 2017 using an online survey conducted in December 2016–January 2017 of 126 decision-makers and compares diffusion-index results against a 50 midpoint benchmark. The analysis indicates continued but moderating growth across the total market and highlights segment performance focus areas—spending and benchmarks, project timing and cancellations, and business-conditions effects on 2018 purchasing decisions—where segments such as Beverage, Pharmaceutical/Medical Devices, and Foods tend to diverge. Charts highlight year-over-year and quarter-to-quarter trends and emerging patterns of maintained versus delayed projects. The report reveals where packaging leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

Quarterly Economic Outlook: Planning for 1st Quarter 2017, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines current industrial and regional production dynamics using 12‑month moving averages, leading indicators, and sectoral indexes through late 2016. The analysis indicates shifting business‑cycle phases across food, beverages, chemicals, and durables, with comparative benchmarks highlighting regional variance. Focus areas include business‑cycle and forecast modeling, market‑segment opportunities and risks, and operational readiness for capacity, workforce, and capital planning, with practical actions such as workforce alignment, inventory and equipment timing, and product‑line optimization. Charts highlight trend transitions and emerging patterns that tend to inform strategic timing. The report reveals where engineering teams are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

U.S. Demand for Packaging Machinery: 4th Quarter 2016 Purchasing Index, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines quarterly and year‑over‑year investment trends based on an October 2016 survey of U.S. packaging machinery end users using diffusion‑index benchmarks. Focus areas include investment outlook and segment benchmarks that group Foods, Beverage and Pharmaceutical/Medical Devices; project timing and schedule risk, including initially scheduled projects and delays; and business‑condition impacts on 2017 purchasing decisions. The analysis indicates segments tend to outperform or trail the total market in ways that generally show consistent patterns, and charts highlight comparative shifts across quarters; the report reveals where packaging leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

PMMI How’s Business Quarterly, 4th Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines near-term manufacturing and packaging sector dynamics using surveys of senior executives alongside public economic series from ISM, BLS, the Conference Board and industry groups. The analysis indicates mixed business conditions relative to recent quarters and benchmarks, with focus areas on commercial activity and order flow, including new orders, shipments and quotations, workforce and recruiting pressures such as hiring, compensation and vacancy trends, and productivity, costs and trade exposure. Emerging patterns show cautious capital spending and geographic variation, and charts highlight comparative trends across quarters and regions. The report reveals where manufacturers are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

Quarterly Economic Outlook: Planning for 4th Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines near‑term economic and industry dynamics using data through mid‑2016 from industrial production indexes, purchasing managers’ surveys and leading indicators to benchmark performance across regions and market segments. Focus areas include workforce development and retention and knowledge capture; capital investment, equipment sourcing and process resilience; and market segmentation and export competitiveness, with examples ranging from beverages and personal care to pharmaceuticals. Analysis indicates growth pockets and emerging headwinds across sectors; charts highlight comparative trends and timing. The report reveals where packaging and processing leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

2016 State of the Industry — US Packaging Machinery Report, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines 2015 base-year shipments and forecasts to 2020 using supplier questionnaires, IHS economic models and US Census Bureau trade data. The analysis indicates market segmentation across 28 machinery categories with focus areas on demand drivers and sector mix such as food, beverage and pharmaceuticals, technology and automation adoption including form-fill-seal, robotics and machine vision, and operational resilience covering order backlogs, supply-chain flexibility and sustainability. Charts highlight shifting ASP and unit trends, and findings generally show labeling and flexible packaging tending to outpace some traditional categories. The report reveals where engineering teams are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

U.S. Packaging Machinery Purchasing Index — 3rd Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines U.S. end‑user investment sentiment and project timing based on a July 2016 industry survey and market intelligence, benchmarking activity against the established midpoint that signals expansion. Focus areas include segment‑level investment patterns and project scheduling, business‑condition influences on 2017 purchasing decisions, and market‑cycle indicators tied to production momentum, with examples such as food, beverage, and pharmaceutical segments. The analysis indicates broad expansion trends and emerging variations across sectors, and charts highlight comparative trajectories and timing risks. Download the full report to discover where industry leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

PMMI How’s Business Quarterly — 3rd Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines macro and sector performance in Q2 and Q3 2016 using industry surveys, ISM and BLS releases and leading‑indicator series to benchmark activity across manufacturers. The analysis indicates mixed but cautiously improving business conditions, with focus areas on demand and supply trends such as new orders, shipments and inventory management; labor and skills dynamics including hiring, recruitment difficulty and compensation; and cost and trade pressures tied to input prices and a stronger dollar. Charts highlight comparative trajectories and benchmark shifts, and the report reveals where engineering teams are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

Quarterly Economic Outlook: Planning for 3rd Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines industrial production trends, business-cycle phases and regional performance to guide planning. Drawing on Federal Reserve revisions, ITR leading indicators, purchasing managers’ data and industry indices, the analysis benchmarks North America, Europe and Southeast Asia while highlighting market segments. Focus areas include capital and workforce planning, market segmentation and supply‑chain resilience, and leading‑indicator monitoring to time investments, with examples such as pharmaceutical and medical devices, personal care, and food and beverages. Charts highlight phase shifts and moving averages, and the analysis indicates sectors generally show accelerating activity. The report reveals where packaging and processing leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen resilience.

U.S. Packaging Machinery Purchasing Index, 2nd Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines U.S. end-user packaging machinery spending and segment-level investment outlooks using an April 2016 online survey of representative decision-makers and a diffusion-index benchmarking approach where a midpoint benchmark signals no change. The analysis focuses on market segmentation and comparative indexes, project timing versus initially scheduled projects, and the effect of business conditions on purchasing, showing that foods, beverages, and durables generally show stronger expansion while chemicals and personal care tend to be more constrained. Charts highlight quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year patterns and emerging segment divergences. The report reveals where manufacturers are prioritizing capital to strengthen operational resilience.

PMMI Economic Indicator Quarterly, 1st Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines manufacturing and packaging sector performance using Q1 2016 survey responses from senior executives alongside government and PMI data to benchmark trends against prior quarters and regional comparators. Focus areas include demand dynamics and inventory cycles (from new orders to shipments), inflation and trade pressures affecting pricing and imports, and labor and productivity trends tied to hiring, compensation and skills availability. The analysis indicates mixed but stabilizing signals, and charts highlight comparative patterns across regions and sectors; the report reveals where packaging and processing leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

Quarterly Economic Outlook: Planning for 2nd Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines near-term economic conditions for packaging and processing markets using ITR Economics indices, 12-month moving averages and leading indicators through early 2016. The analysis indicates a divergence between a soft industrial side—notably mining and utilities—and stronger consumer-facing segments such as personal care and food, with sectoral focus areas on production trends, supply-chain and pricing pressures, and capital and workforce planning. Regional benchmarks compare North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America, and charts highlight emerging patterns that tend to inform tactical management objectives. The report reveals where packaging and processing leaders are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

1st Quarter 2016 Purchasing Index, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines U.S. end‑user plans for packaging machinery investments and market momentum based on an online survey of domestic decision‑makers conducted in late 2015. Focus areas include comparative segment performance and benchmarking across food and beverage, personal care, and pharmaceuticals; business‑condition drivers that shape purchasing decisions; and project timing and investment priorities such as scheduled projects and aftermarket needs. The analysis indicates broad expansion tendencies across segments, with emerging patterns showing variation in pace by market; charts highlight cross‑segment comparisons and project status trends. The report reveals where engineering teams are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.

Quarterly Economic Outlook — Planning for 1st Quarter 2016, published by PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines near-term macroeconomic and sectoral trends using ITR Economics industry production indexes, leading indicators and order data across North America, Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia, providing benchmark context. The analysis indicates slowing but uneven growth across consumer, chemical and durable-goods segments and highlights focus areas including demand and regional production dynamics (from US consumer-led activity to China-linked export pressure), input-cost and commodity impacts on margins, and preparedness spanning inventory, capital allocation and distribution. Charts highlight cyclical-phase comparisons and emerging patterns that tend to favor investment. The report reveals where engineering teams are prioritizing investments to strengthen operational resilience.