Want to get a glimpse of where the US packaging industry is headed? Take a look at what your customers are buying. In the same way you can get an idea of trends in the converting field through tracking purchases of everything from digital-CTP platemakers and gearless Cl-flexo presses to servo-driven in-line presses and zipper-equipped bagmakers, knowing what kinds of capital equipment your end-user, packaged-goods customers (CPGs) are investing in can tell you a lot. One way to do this is through the annual Shipments and Outlook Study conducted by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (www.pmmi.org). The results of the just-released 2007 edition showthat sales eclipsed $6 billion last year for the first time—a 6 percent increase over 2005 and the fifth consecutive year of overall growth. US shipments are forecasted to rise another 3.1 percent annually, reaching almost $6.7 billion by 2009.
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