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Global plastic coatings market to reach $7.76 billion by 2021 VANCOUVER, Wash.—The global plastic coatings market is estimated to reach $7.76 billion by 2021 registering a compound annual growth rate of 5.5 percent during the forecast period of 2016 to 2021. This is according to Plas- t i c C o a t i n g s M a r k e t b y T y p e (Polyurethane, Acrylic, Epoxy), Process (Electrophoretic Painting, Powder Coat- ing, Dip Coating), End-Use Industry (Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, Building and Construction), and Region — Global Forecast to 2021, a new mar- ket report offered by MarketsandMar- kets, an industrial research firm. This growth is driven by increasing demand from the automotive end-use industry and an increasing trend towards green, environmentally friendly coating mate- rials. Dip-coating processes lead the market in 2015, but polyurethane plas- tic coatings are expected to account for the largest share of the market by 2021 due to their high performance benefits, such as strength, flexibility, abrasion re- sistance, and moisture resistance. Primary metals leading index increases in July RESTON, Va.—The primary metals l e a d i n g i n d e x a n d i t s 6 - m o n t h smoothed growth rate both increased sharply in July. Average weekly hours, weighted S&P stock price index, and USGS metals price index growth rate contributed most to this advance. The leading index of metal prices and its 6- month smoothed growth rate also both increased in July. This suggests strength in primary metals industry activity and in metal prices near term. The copper l e a d i n g i n d e x a n d i t s 6 - m o n t h smoothed growth rate both decreased in June. This suggests weakness in copper industry activity near term. However, the nonferrous metals price index in July recorded its second positive growth rate, ending a series of negative growth rates that began September 2014. The primary metals leading index in- creased to 160.3 in July from a revised 1 5 8 . 9 i n J u n e , a n d i t s 6 - m o n t h smoothed growth rate increased to 4.8 percent in July from a revised 2.8 per- cent in June. The index's 6-month smoothed growth rate is a compound annual rate that measures the near-term trend. Usually, a growth rate above +1.0 percent signals an increase in metals ac- tivity, and a growth rate below -1.0 per- cent indicates a downturn in activity. The July growth rate was the fourth consecutive positive growth rate in 2016, and the growth rate of May [2.2], June [2.8], and July [4.8] were all above the +1.0 percent that would signal growth in primary metals industry ac- tivity. These are the first positive growth rate figures recorded since 2014. The leading index will be subject to revision when the other components are added next month. US primary aluminum production rate surveyed ARLINGTON, Va.—Based on Alu- minum Association surveys, the annual rate of US primary aluminum produc- tion totaled 726,829 metric tons (tonnes) during August 2016, a drop of 54.3 percent from the August 2015 an- nual rate of 1,588,892 tonnes. Com- pared to the previous month, the an- nual rate of production decreased 3.7 percent from the July 2016 annual rate of 754,716 tonnes. The year-to-date (YTD) annual rate of production through August 2016 totaled 857,142 tonnes, off 47.9 percent from the 2015 YTD rate of 1,646,007 tonnes. Actual production for the month of August 2016 totaled 61,562 tonnes. Participat- ing companies account for 100 percent of US primary aluminum production. Canadian primary aluminum production increases in August M O N T R E A L , Q u e . — T h e A l u - minum Association of Canada reported that primary aluminum production in C a n a d a i n A u g u s t 2 0 1 6 t o t a l e d 273,058 metric tons and was the high- est month of production of the year. The monthly production was slightly up by 0.34 percent in comparison with the previous month. Based on year-to- date average daily production of 8,725 metric tons, the annual projection of production is 3,193,339 metric tons. Compared to a year ago, production was up 11.9 percent. This report is based on information provided to The Aluminum Association of Canada by survey participants, which is aggregated by the Association. 44 POWDER COATING, October 2016 US manufacturing technology orders drop in July MCLEAN, Va.—Manufacturing tech- nology orders for July 2016 dropped 24.8 percent compared to June. Com- pared to July 2015, monthly orders were down 23.0 percent. This is accord- ing to the Association for Manufactur- ing Technology (AMT) as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Or- ders (USMTO) program. The latest in- dustry forecasts indicate that the capital manufacturing equipment market will remain in negative territory through the end of the year, with a return to positive growth not coming until the second quarter of 2017. "The automotive and aerospace indus- tries moved into a summer slump, pil- ing on to manufacturing's ongoing challenges from the effects of a strong dollar, weakness in key export markets and a soft oil and gas industry," said Douglas K. Woods, AMT president. "Manufacturers are feeling cautious about the economy and hesitant to make new investments until they get a better sense of certainty." July 2016 manufacturing technology orders were valued at $246.38 million, down from $327.67 million in June. Year to date, orders are valued at $2,090.88 million, compared to $2,497.64 million at the same point in 2015, a drop of 16.3 percent. The Insti- tute of Supply Management's PMI, a key measure of manufacturing's health, dropped to 49.4 in August, indicating contraction. The USMTO report provides regional and national US orders data of domes- tic and imported machine tools and re- lated equipment. AMT represents and promotes US-based manufacturing technology and its members, including those who design, build, sell, and service the continuously evolving technology that lies at the heart of manufacturing. The USMTO report is compiled by AMT and all data in the report is based on the totals of actual data reported by c o m p a n i e s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e USMTO program. UPDATE: Markets