By Lindsey Munson, editor, Plastics Business
As the plastics industry approaches the end of 2025, it stands at a crossroads – balancing innovation and technological advancements with ongoing supply chain disruptions, regulatory pressures, shifting market demands and more. In this article, three industry veterans share their insights and perspectives on what lies ahead in 2026. Each professional has taken a moment to offer their expertise on the progress made throughout the prior year and the challenges that remain. With 2026 on the horizon, it is crucial that companies strategically align their operations to navigate and shift with a dynamic global landscape.
The Supplier Perspective
As 2026 approaches, gaining insight from a supplier actively engaged in the industry and with depth and knowledge on its team is key to understanding the current landscape of plastics manufacturing and what lies ahead. Kevin Dickson is the director of global supply chain and operations at PolySource, located in Overland Park, Kansas, and a company known for being a resin distributor and a trusted consultant and problem solver dedicated to helping customers meet their goals. Dickson shared three supply chain certainties for 2026:
- Rapid Change – Unlike previous events, a single pen stroke now has the power to reshape the plastics landscape overnight – without warning, without leading indicators and without clear rules. This economic environment of quick shifts will persist through the end of 2025 and should carry into 2026.
- Adapting to Survive – Those who don’t adapt will struggle to survive. As observed over the past year, the industry has seen how policy changes, such as retaliatory tariffs, Annex II, Section 232 and 301, can disrupt operations. If companies can’t quickly assess the impacts on their businesses, they will be late to respond.
- Economic Strength is Uncertain – The US macroeconomics outlook may not correlate directly with the microeconomics of the business or even specific programs within it.
“So, what is the solution?” said Dickson. “Becoming an expert in all areas of the supply chain! While that is an impossible task, we can take what has been learned over the past years and apply it to today.” There are two key areas to focus on:
- Pricing Volatility – Imports will be impacted more quickly than domestic sources. Is there another option? If so, what is it, and how stable will that pricing be going forward? If a price increase needs to be pushed through, it’s better to have the conversation sooner rather than later.
- Inventory Management – This action can be difficult based on multiple factors, including product availability, physical space, working capital and more. The goal is to have the right inventory, and that will require businesses to work closely with their customers on forecasting. While forecasting is an imperfect science, collaboration and alignment will help businesses achieve the right amount of product at the right price. Constant communication is the key.
Dickson said, “Plastics manufacturing is in a new era of supply chain that we haven’t experienced since the first half of the 20th century. The key is having enough knowledge to ask the right questions (even though you’ll never have enough for all the right answers).” An understanding is these basics is a good place to start:
- Country of Origin (COO) tariffs are applied to the country where the product was produced, not the country it shipped from.
- Substantially Transformed – Understanding it, and if you can use it to your advantage.
- Incoterms can expose businesses to hidden or higher costs if they don’t understand them. It is important to have a trustworthy partner to assist with understanding why a 20% tariff on goods from Taiwan doesn’t increase the price by 20%.
- There are charts and resources online that have a basic outline of responsibilities for each Incoterm.
- Harmonized Tariff Schedule United States Code (HTSUS) is critical to understand for all of the products businesses bring in internationally and what codes apply to those products.
- Annex II List – Is a list of HTSUS codes that are exempt from reciprocal tariffs.
- Alternate Options in many cases have been explored recently, and the variables have changed. One thing hasn’t changed: “If it is too good to be true, it probably is.” Having a trusted partner to navigate this with is imperative.
“PolySource has been in the international trade business for 25 years, has relationships and experience around the globe, maintains active distribution in dozens of countries and is positioned to help customers navigate this volatile market,” said Dickson. “With a diverse portfolio of both international and domestic materials, we can provide multiple solutions tailored to a customer’s unique needs. Our technical team, with over 100 years of industry experience, interacts daily with customers and OEMs to deliver problem-specific solutions, including resin selection, processing issues, formulation and supply chain assistance. Now more than ever, we want to be the solution provider.”
The Processor Perspective
Jeff Ignatowski is the president of Champion Plastics, Inc., a precision injection molder of functional plastics and assemblies headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company is IATF 16949 certified, reflecting its commitment to quality and industry standards. With over 35 years of experience in the plastics industry, Ignatowski is recognized for his ability to grow and transform companies. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Manufacturers Association for Plastics Processors (MAPP).
When asked about the outlook for 2026 and the main challenges Champion Plastics anticipates, Ignatowski said, “Overall, our business is very strong, and we continue to see growth. However, with growth comes challenges, and we carefully are planning our next steps to further expand capacity.” As part of its expansion strategy, Champion Plastics is investing in new equipment (such as presses), automation (including robots, box conveyor systems and lights-out manufacturing) and a third production shift. Ignatowski said, “In fact, we tried to add a third shift earlier in the summer but were unable to find properly skilled talent and elected to purchase an additional press to be our ‘virtual third shift.’” With that, Champion Plastics is not facing any market challenges; however, Ignatowski said, “the tariffs are creating some headaches, predominantly related to its offshore tooling strategy. In summary, we anticipate capacity, skilled labor and tariffs to be our key challenges.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Champion Plastics has observed a significant uptick in reshoring activity. However, like many plastics processors, it has yet to see tangible results and is approaching the market with cautious optimism. “Our biggest opportunities are the growth potential,” said Ignatowski, “including existing customers, new customers and new market expansion (mostly non-automotive, and we are targeting non-invasive healthcare). Regarding reshoring activities, we have been very aggressive with our pricing and tooling to capitalize on the trend. However, we are equally cautious of these opportunities due to the typical known challenges related to transfer tooling (such as if customers don’t elect to purchase new).” When asked about the current economic climate and the influences on the company, Ignatowski said, “Frankly, we are moving forward with the same growth strategy we have had in place; however, some of our CAPEX decisions have been pushed out due to delayed launches by our customers, combined with customers stretching out payments.”
As Champion Plastics enters 2026, Ignatowski shared, “This might not be a typical response nor a popular one, but we are very pessimistic about the general ‘state of our customers.’ Personally, I believe that the globalization of white-collar positions and the work-from-home strategy have had a negative impact. Purchasing, engineering, supplier quality, manufacturing and other functions are rarely located in the same place and typically cross international borders. Differences in culture, language barriers and the fact that most of them have never met (or socialized) in person have created customers who are out of sync. The tribal knowledge (and common sense) of many customers has evaporated. As a result, we have ‘fired’ several and are much more selective about whom we target for new relationships.”
Plante Moran is optimistic that plastics processors will embrace change, especially those adapting their businesses to implement more technology-driven processes.
The Advisory Perspective
Ted Morgan is a partner at Plante Moran, a professional services firm founded in 1924 that offers comprehensive audit, tax, consulting and wealth management services to clients in diverse industries, including plastics and automotive. Known for its “one-firm” approach, Plante Moran combines industry expertise with a people-first culture to deliver lasting value.
Morgan said, “Effectively managing the impact of tariffs on business will need to become an ‘institutionalized process’ as tariffs appear to be here to stay at least for the short to medium term. The four key tenets for accurately managing tariffs are 1) Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Code, 2) Customs Value, 3) Country of Origin (COO) and 4) International Commercial Terms (Incoterms). Having a solid grasp on these is critical to minimizing financial burden and risk to your business.” Secondly, Morgan shared that labor continues to be one of the top operational challenges – and is an area where plastics processors have the most control. While resin usually is the highest gross cost, processors have much less control over it than over their labor costs. “The good news: Over the past few years,” Morgan said, “technology-based solutions (beyond robots) have become available to processors that can help control their labor costs.”
Current economic conditions are projected to be “good enough” for businesses to grow in 2026, with unemployment and interest rates projected to remain stable. Additionally, tariff deals likely are to be finalized with most – if not all – countries, allowing businesses to plan accordingly. While tariffs generally are unpopular, the uncertainty they created in 2025 as deals were struck with various nations, could be the most disruptive aspect of tariffs alone Morgan said, “So those business owners are looking forward to having this uncertainty behind them.”
To navigate these challenges, plastics processors should continue to invest in technology-based solutions. Morgan said, “Plastics processing is too competitive and too capital-intensive not to invest in tech-based solutions. This is no longer just about getting more robots. It’s about having your organization use technology throughout operations, including the back office. Plastics processors that have already adopted this mentality are much better positioned to be successful long-term – both in 2030 and 2035. Better utilization of a company’s data can help make data-driven decisions and reduce reliance on ‘tribal knowledge.’ This is commonly known as business or data analytics. On the plant floor, this can provide more ‘real-time’ data to fix manufacturing issues sooner. For top-line growth, this can help plastics processors identify higher- and lower-margin product segments, customers, etc., which can drive quoting and pricing decisions and ultimately go-to-market strategies.”
Another critical step is utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). Morgan said, “Like it or not, it is here to stay. Plastics processors must explore how AI can play into their businesses, since the most competitive plastics processors already are doing so. Similar to business analytics, plastics processors that invest in AI now are much better positioned to succeed in 2030 and 2035.”
Plante Moran is optimistic that plastics processors will embrace change, especially those adapting their businesses to implement more technology-driven processes. Morgan said, “Those that adapt will be well positioned to differentiate themselves over the next one to three years compared to other plastics processors doing it ‘the old way.’ This is a huge opportunity for forward-thinking plastics processors to tell their future plans to their customers and competitors’ customers – ultimately leading to more top-line growth.”
The Road Ahead
As the new year approaches, insights from three key perspectives across the plastics manufacturing landscape – supplier, processor and advisor – give a well-rounded view of the opportunities and challenges that await in 2026. Suppliers provide valuable input on material advancements and market trends. At the same time, processors remain focused on operational efficiency and customer demands, and an industry advisor ties it all together, offering strategic guidance to help navigate an evolving environment. Together, these perspectives help shape a clearer, informed path forward for the days ahead in plastics manufacturing. n
More information: www.polysource.net, www.championplastics.net and www.plantemoran.com