Platform & Features

Material Shortage – How formary as a platform can support the availability of plastic workpiece carriers

Here, we summarize the impact of material shortages and how formary can respond to ensure maximum planning security for you.


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Lisa-Marie Bittner

Updated on June 2, 2026

Materialknappheit von Kunststofftrays
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Availability of Plastic Work Piece Carriers - Key Points

  • Since 2020, the pandemic, war and energy crisis have led to material shortages in the plastics industry with rising prices and longer delivery times.
  • formary reduces delivery and price risks through a broad network of manufacturers, flexible capacity utilization and alternative suppliers.
  • Via the formary configurator, annual quantities can be planned and material availability secured.

→ Request plastic work piece carriers now


Supply Bottlenecks in the Plastics Industry

Since early 2020, global industry has suffered from massive supply bottlenecks, the plastics industry is also affected.

The causes:

  • Corona pandemic: Disrupted supply chains and sharply increased plastics demand, especially in the food and medical industries.
  • War in Ukraine: Rising energy prices at record levels burden energy-intensive plastics production and recycling.

Result: A widespread material shortage in plastics manufacturing and processing.

How Does the Material Shortage Affect Everyday Production?

The tense situation has direct consequences for everyday production:

  • Certain plastic types are only available at daily prices.
  • Orders such as plastic films are sometimes placed without price guarantee.
  • Availability and delivery times fluctuate greatly and are often significantly longer than usual.

Over 80% of German industrial companies currently report bottlenecks in raw materials and intermediate products. The thermoforming industry is also affected – from thermoforming trays to packaging blisters to technical plastic parts such as covers and housings.

formary Offers a Broad Network of Suppliers – You Benefit from This During Material Shortages

The broad formary network of manufacturers for plastic thermoformed parts helps in many areas with the procurement of your plastic products. These include:

Diversification

Many companies respond to dependencies and supply failures by building second sources and alternative suppliers. With the formary supplier network, exactly that happens automatically: For each new project, the request is distributed to several suitable suppliers.

This way, manufacturers and customers alike benefit from greater security and flexibility. Learn more about this in the blog post or in the webinar of the same name on Asset Sharing.

Flexibility

formary knows the capacities of the network and can react flexibly. You don't have to first find out which supplier in Germany currently has which material group in stock or is able to deliver quickly due to excess machine capacity. formary offers a wide range of materials for various applications.

Reduced Effort

Times like these present employees who procure items for your companies with new and diverse challenges daily. This costs time. formary reduces your effort through fast calculations and feedback, minimal ordering effort including reliable processing.


Conclusion - How to Counter the Material Shortage of Plastic Parts

The material shortage remains a challenge for plastics processing that directly affects prices, delivery times and planning security. It is therefore all the more important not to make procurement dependent on individual suppliers or short-term availability. A broad network, alternative sources and early demand planning help to reduce risks and implement projects more reliably.

formary supports exactly this: Through digital requests, flexible supplier structure and the possibility to plan annual quantities early, plastic work piece carriers can be procured more efficiently even in tense market situations. This creates more security for your production – even when materials are scarce, prices are fluctuating and delivery times are difficult to plan.

Frequently Asked Questions About Material Shortages of Plastic Parts

How can supply bottlenecks in plastics processing be avoided?

Through a broad supplier network, the use of alternative materials and the use of multiple sources, bottlenecks can be significantly reduced.

Which plastics are currently most difficult to obtain?

What does daily price mean for plastic raw materials?

How do I find alternative suppliers for thermoformed parts?

What strategies help against rising plastic prices?

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