Those figures, from the Confederation of Packaging Machinery Assn., were reported in October by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (Arlington, VA). The sales figure increased 4% compared to ’99. Japan, Germany, and Italy were the only other countries with double-digit market share figures in 2000, at 19%, 16%, and 12%, respectively.
The largest machinery sales percentage gains were enjoyed by Spain (up 39% to US$584 million), China (up 12% to US$1.8 billion), and Japan (up 9% to US$3.83 billion). Conversely, the largest percentage losses were cited from the United Kingdom (down 21% to US$525 million), Germany (down 7% to US$3.161 billion), and Italy (down 7% to US$2.3 billion).
“Though worldwide sales of packaging machinery were flat as compared to 1999, the United States showed promising gains, including a slight increase in exporting,” noted Charles Yuska, PMMI’s president. (JB)
