April PMI Drops, Plastic Industry Optimistic to Rise in May 2026

JAKARTA - The performance of the national plastic industry experienced pressure in April 2026 as the manufacturing sector activity weakened.

However, industry players are beginning to see signs of recovery entering May.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Olefin, Aromatic, and Plastic Industries (Inaplas) Suhat Miyarso revealed that the decline in industry performance was reflected in the weakening of the Purchasing Manager's Index or PMI.

"If we look at it, the industry as a whole is indeed in the first quarter or April this decline. That's because we see the PMI index down almost 1 percent, very deep. So, we (in) April in a depressed position," said Suhat in a media discussion titled "Impact of Geopolitical Turbulence on the Plastic Industry" in Jakarta, Tuesday, May 5.

According to Suhat, the pressure is inseparable from external factors, especially global geopolitical conditions which affect the supply and price of industrial raw materials. Even so, industry players are beginning to see improvements in conditions in May.

"However, this May we hope that this will not happen again and can return to normal numbers above 50, so that our industry can be in a position to develop," he said.

According to Suhat, a number of industries are also beginning to show signs of recovery, although they have not completely returned to the condition before the pressure occurred.

"Currently, there are still several industries under (support) Inaplas under pressure. However, the signs are already visible that starting in May there will be improvements and from the major industries we have also delivered a statement that they will soon return to normal in the new balance," he said.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Inaplas Edi Rivai added that the current condition is relatively more stable than some time ago.

This improvement trend is expected to continue in the next few months as supply chains adjust and industry players diversify raw materials.

With this development, Inaplas is optimistic that the performance of the plastic industry will gradually recover in the near future.

Previously, the world rating agency, Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P) reported that Indonesia's manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index or PMI in April fell to 49.1 on a monthly basis, down from March's 50.1.

"Indonesia's manufacturing sector is beginning to feel the increasingly intense inflationary pressure in the midst of the Middle East war," said S&P Global Market Intelligence Economist Usamah Bhatti in a written statement, Monday, May 4.

S&P assessed that the decline in production in early the second quarter of 2026 was caused by rising prices, a shortage of raw material supplies, and a weakening of purchasing power due to the war in the Middle East.

The production decline was the second in two consecutive months.

S&P noted that the rate of production decline increased from March and continued to accelerate since May last year.

The increase in cost burden was the largest factor in the decline in manufacturing production in April since 2022, driving the largest price increase in 12.5 years.