While work on the first issue of 2024 is well underway, we paused to see which Plastics Business articles from 2023 caught the eyes of our readers. The following stories were the top reads from 2023 for visitors to the website. Recycled Resins Fill Sustainability Gaps in Plastics Processing Consumer preference increasingly favors sustainable products and is driving … [Read more...] about Top 5 Plastics Business Articles of 2023
Supply Chain
Year-End Economic Outlook: Here We Go Again
By Chris Kuehl, managing director, Armada Corporate Intelligence Rather suddenly, the threat of recession is back. Many had been predicting the downturn would occur as early as Q3 of last year. However, growth numbers consistently exceeded expectations (2.6% in Q3, 2.9% in Q4, 2.3% in Q1 of this year and another 2.3% in Q2). Then the biggest shock yet – growth in the third … [Read more...] about Year-End Economic Outlook: Here We Go Again
What Recession?
By Chris Kuehl, managing director, Armada Corporate Intelligence It would seem to be such a simple request: “Mr. Economic Forecaster, are we or are we not in a recession? How bad might this be, and when might we expect to be out of it – if, indeed, we are in one?” Too bad those in the soothsaying business seem incapable of answering these questions. A survey commissioned … [Read more...] about What Recession?
Best Practices for New Program Start-Up: The Supplier Perspective
By Lindsey Munson, editor, Plastics Business Molders and OEMs are accustomed to the industry’s pressures when it comes to onboarding suppliers, mold production cycles, meeting customer demands, implementing new protocols, and the list goes on – but, what about the pressure that comes with a new program start-up? Of course, most, if not all molders and OEMs have a strategy … [Read more...] about Best Practices for New Program Start-Up: The Supplier Perspective
A Collision of the Global Supply Chain: Politics, Inflation and Alternative Sources
By Chris Kuehl, managing director, Armada Corporate Intelligence Not that manufacturing has avoided talking about international issues in the past, but there have been new developments that have been pushing these issues to the forefront – especially for the plastics industry. There is an old adage that asserts, “When elephants fight it is the mice that suffer.” The US and … [Read more...] about A Collision of the Global Supply Chain: Politics, Inflation and Alternative Sources