Mexican economy key in driving forward plastics industry throughout NAFTA region, study says

Flags of USA, Mexico and CanadaRecent developments in shale gas extraction have stimulated the polymer market in the NAFTA region by providing cheap polymer feedstock and facilitating an increase in domestic manufacturing productivity through low energy and operational costs. That is one of the big contributing factors to the growth of the flexible packaging market in North America, according to a new report from AMI International, a consultancy based in Bristol, UK.

The report, Polymer Demand in NAFTA,covers the third largest regional polymer market in the world and includes the world’s second largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. Overall, the North American polymer market is forecast to grow 2.7% a year through 2022, with a moderate variation between the slowest growing market of Canada and fast-growing Mexico. Home to some of the industry’s leading polymer producers with pioneering production capabilities, the technological prowess in the U.S. has enabled development across the entire plastics supply chain, the report noted.

A 58% increase in natural gas extraction is forecast between 2017 and 2040, which suggests that the United States will have a raw material and electric power cost basis that is on par with the Middle East.