The US plastics industry generated $533.6 billion in shipments and supported more than one million jobs in 2025, according to the latest Size and Impact Report from the Plastics Industry Association (Plastics).
The report puts direct employment in the industry at 1.049 million people, while including suppliers takes plastics-related employment to 1.66 million. Total shipments, including those associated with upstream suppliers, reached $715.8bn.
The report puts employment across the plastics industry, including captive plastics products manufacturing, at 1.049 million people, while including upstream suppliers takes plastics-related employment to 1.66 million.
Plastics manufacturing accounted for 774,200 jobs and $371.4bn in shipments in 2025. Within this, the plastics products segment was the largest, with 668,000 employees and $260.5bn in shipments.
The report ranks plastics products as the eighth-largest US manufacturing industry by shipments in 2024, the latest year for which comparable data are available.
The wider plastics industry also includes plastics materials and resins, plastics working machinery, moulds for plastics and wholesale trade. The industry operated 14,983 manufacturing establishments in 2025 under the US government definition.
Demand across the economy
The report shows that plastics products are used across a broad range of industries, with most products serving as intermediate goods rather than being sold directly to consumers.
Service-related sectors, including healthcare, food services and drinking places, wholesale and retail trade and other services, accounted for 34.0 per cent of final consumption of plastics products in 2025.
A further 27.2 per cent went into nondurable goods. Food, tobacco and beverages accounted for 7.8 per cent of final plastics products consumption, while 15.4 per cent was used in the production of other plastics products and 4.0 per cent in other nondurable goods.
Construction accounted for 11.0 per cent of final consumption, while durable goods represented 19.2 per cent, including 10.3 per cent for transportation equipment.
The report notes that these categories exceed 100 per cent when combined because imports, net of exports, accounted for a further 23.2 per cent.
Employment growth
Plastics manufacturing employment increased at an average annual rate of 0.8 per cent between 2015 and 2025, compared with 0.3 per cent for US manufacturing as a whole.
Over the longer period from 1997 to 2025, employment in plastics manufacturing declined by 0.7 per cent a year, compared with a 1.1 per cent annual decline across manufacturing.
Real shipments in plastics manufacturing declined by 0.1 per cent annually between 1997 and 2025, compared with 0.2 per cent for manufacturing overall.
The report also says real value added in plastics manufacturing grew by 0.3 per cent annually over the period, while manufacturing overall recorded a 0.5 per cent annual decline.
Consumer spending
Plastics chief economist Dr Perc Pineda forecasts real plastics shipments to increase by 1.2 per cent in 2026 and 0.8 per cent in 2027.
Employment, however, is expected to decline slightly in 2026 before improving thereafter.
The report identifies consumer spending and business investment as sources of support for plastics demand, while elevated interest rates continue to constrain housing and other interest-rate-sensitive markets.
Automotive and manufacturing are highlighted as potential areas of future demand, with vehicle production, new model introductions, electrification and investment in advanced manufacturing identified as factors that could support plastics consumption.
The outlook remains subject to economic growth, end-market performance, interest rates and uncertainty over trade and tariffs.
‘Challenging operating environment’
Matt Seaholm, president and chief executive of Plastics, said: “The US plastics industry continues to demonstrate its resilience, even amid economic uncertainty and a challenging operating environment.”
Pineda noted that the industry had outperformed overall manufacturing in employment, real shipments and real value added over the past 28 years.
The report also highlights the geographical reach of the industry. Texas had the largest plastics industry workforce in 2025, with 91,600 employees, followed by Ohio with 77,500 and Michigan with 69,000.
