Resin Review-Juggling Costs, Regulations and Innovation

JCT Coatingstech Magazine

March 2008

Volume 5, No. 3

Market Update

Page 56-61

Excerpts from… “Resin Review: Juggling Costs, Regulations, and the Need for Innovation”

By Cynthia Challener, JCT Coatingstech Contributing Writer

…Despite a decline in volume of sales, though, paint and coating producers in the U.S. managed to increase revenues from 5 to 10% in 2007 through price hikes and product mix effects, according to Daniel S. Murad, president and CEO of The ChemQuest Group, Inc. Globally, revenues in the paint and coatings industry were up 10-12%. “The resins market has had a similar experience,” he notes, “and has been particularly disciplined and successful at passing along rising costs.”

That discipline will be necessary throughout 2008 as well. “Many companies expected the price of oil to remain at $70-$80/barrel and planned accordingly. Now that oil is hovering around $100/barrel, we expect to see resin manufacturers pushing for price increases through most of the year,” Murad explains.

(To read the complete article…and more comments on “Resin Review: Juggling Costs, Regulations, and the Need for Innovation”………see JCT Coatingstech Magazine – March 2008 issue... “Coatings for Wood”).