Folding carton shipments are up in the first half of 2006.

By Missy Smith

The PPC expects the economy to stay strong for the rest of the year and stated that the PMI index remains greater than 50. The Federal Reserve is reporting a 5.7 percent increase year-over-year in industrial production for the first half of 2006.

Converters stand strong

Although the overall economy slowed in 2005, a majority of the respondents to packagePRINTING’s Folding Carton Converters Survey reported that their businesses grew. Only about 10 percent of the converters’ businesses stayed the same and none reported a decrease.