Plastics for our everyday life: More amount for less money: worries in the plastic industry

Germany’s plastic manufacturers are under pressure. In 2024, the production volume rose by three percent, as the Association Plastics Europe Germany in Frankfurt am Main announced. However, due to hard competition and weak demand, prices fell so strongly that industry sales were reduced by three percent to 26.7 billion euros.

In 2023, the sales of the local plastics producers were even 21.9 percent. The companies have around 56,000 employees in Germany.

According to the information, a trend reversal is not in sight. Association leader Ralf Düssel is expecting a slightly falling production volume this year. “The demand for plastics is expected to remain weak.” This is also due to the fact that buyers from the car and construction industry hold back because their own business is only slow. “The forecast for 2025 is steamed,” said Düssel.

About 30 percent of the plastics made in Germany are used for packaging, for example for drinking bottles and other foods in the supermarket. 24 percent of the quantity are used in construction and 11 percent in the car industry, for example for interior cladding in cars. Electrical articles, toys, medical devices and furniture are other buyers for plastic manufacturers.

According to the association, the plastic industry has to struggle with brake pads. “High energy costs, complex tax loads and tax loads as well as exuberant bureaucracy burden competitiveness: Investing in Germany and in Europe, in many cases, it is simply too complicated,” said Düssel.

He calls for better framework conditions from the politicians so that the situation of the domestic industry improves and it does not lose it on the ground in global competition. At the same time, the association representative emphasizes that the German plastic industry is innovative and that research and development also runs excellently thanks to networking with universities.