Jotun has acknowledged the steep rise in the cost of raw materials through 2010 used in some of their coatings. This rise in costs has significantly affected all paints and coatings manufacturers worldwide. Consequently, Jotun has been forced to increase prices on some of its products, but emphasises that it has not affected its entire range.
Throughout 2010 the market price of major raw materials used in coatings, such as epoxies, titanium dioxide, acrylics and metal-based materials has increased by up to as much as 50 per cent.
The surprisingly high global demand coupled with the downscaling of capacity following the 2007 financial crisis has caused an imbalance in the raw materials market for coatings, which has resulted in shortages of many raw materials and consequently caused prices to spiral.
Jotun Coatings expects that this situation will worsen in 2011, which began with the highest crude oil price since 2008, pressing prices further up on petrochemical-based raw materials and metal prices reaching new heights.