The global market for plastics processing machinery is projected to exceed US$13 bln by the year 2015, driven by increased demand from emerging markets of Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, as per Global Industry Analysts, Inc. The market growth is dependent on the pace and extent of recovery in key end-use sectors including construction and automotive industries, that have been the hardest hit by recession in recent times. The global plastics processing machinery market witnessed a sharp decline in 2008 and 2009, as the global economy experienced the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The recession-induced decline hastened the global shift in plastics processing machinery manufacturing, from the West to East. As a result, emerging markets of Brazil, China, India and Russia are becoming significant contributors to sales volume and manufacturer revenues. The recession has also fostered the industry’s shift towards complete production systems and highly automated investments, specifically in the emerging markets where companies have less-developed internal development capabilities. Weak demand in domestic markets compelled manufacturers to look at other international markets to try and offset losses, which intensified price-based competition among them. With significant reduction in profits, most of the leading end-users are cutting down on capital expenditures on the processing machinery, especially plastic and rubber products manufacturing machinery. Asia-Pacific and Europe collectively account for a major share of the global plastics processing machinery market. Increased demand for machinery from Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Middle East and Africa is expected to surpass demand from developed markets of the US, Japan and Western Europe, owing to factors such as steady economic growth, increased focus on industrialization, and rising per capita income level of the regions. China is likely to emerge as a major market for plastics processing machinery across the world, while India and Russia are expected to register robust gains. The plastics processing machinery market in China is anticipated to reach US$3.5 bln by 2012. Countries with low-volume demand such as Iran, Malaysia, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are also expected to make rapid gains. Injection molding machines continue to hold ground in the global plastics processing machinery market. The continued dominance of injection molding machinery market is attributed to advantages such as enhanced accuracy in manufacturing products, high level of energy efficiency in the process and improved flexibility, which enable machines to manufacture greater range and variety of products. Though the injection molding machine market witnessed significant fall in revenues during 2009, the market is exhibiting early signs of recovery. Faced with tough market conditions, majority of the manufacturers focused on redirecting resources towards development of new technology. Such efforts are expected to bear fruit as the market moves towards complete recovery. Resurgent demand for polymer from packaging applications, and specialized sectors such as healthcare, medical and defense is expected to drive the market’s recovery. Additionally, robust demand from Central and Eastern Europe markets is also expected to favor the segment’s growth in the post-recession period. The market for extrusion machines is expected to register robust gains, benefiting from the growth in worldwide construction spending in the post-recession scenario that is likely to spur the demand for extruded goods such as sidings and pipes. Advancements in the extrusion technology are likely to bolster sales of more productive and higher priced machinery. Competitive strength of manufacturers in the global plastics processing machinery market is determined by numerous factors including technological superiority, price, customer service and performance. Global demand for plastics processing machinery is forecast to climb 4.7% pa through 2012 to US$24.9 bln, as per Freedonia Group. Product sales will be spurred by ongoing economic growth and rising personal income levels, resulting in increased plastics product consumption, processing activity and associated equipment demand. Market advances will be constrained to some extent by a moderation in fixed investment spending following a period of healthy gains, as well as by competition from used and rebuilt machinery. However, the large increases that have been recorded in energy and resin prices in recent years will provide some offsetting support, leading to the replacement of older plastics processing equipment by new machinery that is more productive and energy efficient. Product sales in developing parts of Asia, Eastern Europe, the Africa/Mideast region and Latin America will outpace demand in the US, Western Europe and Japan through 2012. Advances will be stimulated by healthy economic growth, ongoing industrialization efforts and rising per capita income in developing areas. China will post the largest gains of any national market in value terms. Plastics processing equipment demand in the country will rise by over US$1.6 bln from 2007 to 2012, when China will account for close to one-fourth of the global market total. Two of the other three BRIC nations -- India and Russia - will also record strong advances, while machinery sales growth in Brazil will be more subdued, due in part to the double digit annual increases in demand that have been registered in recent years. Gains are expected to be healthy as well in lower-volume markets such as the Czech Republic, Iran, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Vietnam. Plastics processing equipment demand in developed parts of the world will expand as well, although growth will be much less robust than in developing countries. Product sales will be driven by generally favorable economic conditions and further increases in plastics processing activity in developed areas, bolstering demand for plastics processing machinery as fixed investment activity climbs. Extrusion equipment will post the strongest gains of any major product type through 2012, benefitting from growth in global construction spending, which will fuel demand for extruded goods like pipe and siding, as well as by further advances in extrusion technology, resulting in increased sales of higher priced, more productive machinery. Demand for other miscellaneous equipment will also rise at an above-average rate, led by products like rapid prototyping and manufacturing, reaction injection molding and rotomolding machines, which do not require the use of molds and can replace injection molding in some low-volume applications. However, injection molding equipment will continue to account for almost two-fifths of the 2012 plastics processing machinery market total, benefitting from the greater accuracy, energy efficiency, flexibility and output of newer generations of equipment.