European Coatings Industry under pressure – strong price increases in epoxy resins and logistics issues hindering access to raw materials

The coatings industry faces historically high prices for epoxy resins. These prices reflect a greater demand for these raw materials in Europe and Asia, which is creating shortages. As a result, raw materials tend to stay in China, where prices are currently higher. Incidents with Bisphenol-A producers are further limiting supply. Concurrently, the market for polyester resins has also suffered price increases, linked to factors such as higher demand and price differences in Europe vs. Asia.

In addition to these negative trends in raw materials, there are logistical constraints due to a shortage of containers available for transporting goods from Asia to Europe. This situation causes delays and severely penalises the cost of transport.

These factors (higher demand, limited production due to various constraints and logistical difficulties) all contribute to growing uncertainty in the market. This, coupled with limited availability, requires strict measures in order to cope with an already complex situation given all the setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In these circumstances, it is becoming more difficult to guarantee the service levels our customers are accustomed to. There is the possibility of extended delivery times, and so customers are advised to anticipate orders, so that we can best accommodate your needs in our planning and strive to maintain our levels of service.