SIC 2821
PLASTIC MATERIALS AND RESINS

The plastic materials and resins industry is comprised of companies primarily engaged in manufacturing various resins and plastics for sale to other industries that create plastic sheets, rods, films, and other products. Information on related products can be found under SIC 2822: Synthetic Rubber, SIC 2823: Cellulose Man-made Fibers, and SIC 2824: Organic Fibers—Noncellulosic.

NAICS Code(s)

325211 (Plastic Material and Resin Manufacturing)

Industry Snapshot

Synthetic plastic was invented late in the eighteenth century and did not reach widespread use in the United States until the 1900s. Swift advances in chemical and manufacturing technologies during the twentieth century, however, made plastic one of America's most important manufacturing materials. In 2001 the U.S. produced 101.1 million pounds of resins. Most important uses of plastics include packaging (22.6 million pounds; 29 percent of all thermoplastic resins), building and construction (13.2 million pounds; 17 percent), and consumer and institutional uses (11.2 million pounds; 12 percent).

The value of shipments in 2001 totaled $45.5 billion. According to The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., plastics products is the fourth largest manufacturing segment in the United States, behind motor vehicles, electronics, and petroleum refining. Approximately 21,000 companies manufacture plastic products or plastics raw materials in the United States. Production facilities are predominately in California and the Midwest (Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois), with the top 10 states accounting for 60 percent of all plastics employment.

During the early 2000s the plastics industry was suffering from the effects of a sluggish economy. Total resin sales in 2001 fell by 3.8 percent from the previous year. High natural gas prices drove production costs up, and a weak economy drove demand down: a lethal combination for the industry.

Organization and Structure

Plastics provide an important alternative to natural materials for a plethora of applications. One of the most important distinguishing factors between plastic and other materials is plastic's ability to "creep" under load, or gradually stretch or flow when subjected to stress. While metals and ceramics exhibit this property as well, they do so only at much higher temperatures. Plastics also resist erosion and do not require a coating to protect them against inorganic acids, bases, and water or salt solutions. Perhaps the greatest advantage that plastics offer, however, is their ability to be molded into any shape and to be processed to exhibit any of a massive number of physical characteristics.

Competition and Market Structure. The synthetic materials industry is considered a segment of the overall chemical industry; synthetic materials manufacturers represent about 20 percent. The plastics industry comprises about 70 percent of the entire synthetic materials industry, which also encompasses rubber and manmade fibers. Manufacturers produce about 500 different types of resins and compounds. Each of these products is available from various suppliers in multiple grades, each grade offering varying physical properties and prices.

Production. Plastics are giant polymers, or long-chain molecules that contain thousands of repeating molecular units. When combined with other ingredients called additives, the polymers can be shaped and molded under heat and pressure into a resin. Resins are produced through chemical processes that combine carbon with other elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Resin usually takes the form of pellets, flakes, granules, powder, or a syrupy liquid. Most resins are not used in their natural state, but are instead combined with other materials by mixing or melt-state blending. The end result is a plastic compound, still in the form of pellets, granules, or powder, that is ready to be delivered to a processor. There are two basic kinds of plastics: thermoplastics, which can be re-softened to their original condition by the application of heat; and thermosets, which cannot be resoftened. The production of thermoplastic resins surpasses the production of thermosetting resins by a ratio of about 8 or 9 to 1. Thermosetting resins include epoxy and polyester. Thermoplastic resins include polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, more commonly known as PVC.

The physical properties of the final plastic product...

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