The plastics industry manufactures polymeric materials, commonly called plastics, and offers services in plastics important to various industries, including: packaging, construction, electronics, aerospace, manufacturing and transportation.

It is part of the chemical industry. Since mineral oil is the main component of plastics, it is part of the petrochemical industry.

In addition to plastics production, engineering plastics" is an important part of the industrial sector. The latter field is dominated by engineering plastics as raw materials due to their better mechanical and thermal properties than the more widely used basic plastics. The main markets for plastics are packaging), construction, and automotive.[1]​.

Plastic production has been growing worldwide. The numbers include thermoplastics and polyurethanes, as well as thermosets, adhesives, coatings and sealants and PP fibers.[1]​ The data was collected by PlasticsEurope") (PEMRG) and Consultic, or the nova institute.[2][3]​.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effect on the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry. Natural gas prices fell so low that gas producers were burning it off-site (it wasn't worth the cost of transporting it to cracking facilities). Additionally, bans on single-use consumer plastic (in China, the European Union, Canada, and many countries in Africa) and bans on plastic bags (in several US states) have significantly reduced demand for plastics. Many cracking facilities in the US were suspended.[4]​.