December 9th, 2021
The industry has continued to see an increase in costs for raw materials that are becoming even more difficult to find due to supply shortages. Factors from the COVID-19 pandemic to the Texas Freeze in February and Hurricane Ida in August, as well as reinstated taxes on imports from last year, have all played a hand in the resin shortage.
The British Coatings Federation issued a statement last month citing raw materials account for about 50 percent of all costs in the industry. Increases in energy and oil prices also reportedly more than doubled in the last 12 months, upping production costs.
The impact, BCF said, is “obviously very severe,” with resins and related materials seeing a 36 percent price hike. For example, the average price for Solution Epoxy Resin is reportedly up 124 percent in September from this time last year.
The dwindling supply of resin has affected the coatings industry, plastic water bottle manufacturers, and automotive.
However, other shortages in the automotive industry have slowed down production, providing relief on demand for resin supplies. Commodity grade resin supply availability has also reportedly improved, with spot prices for polyethylene and polypropylene resins declining.