Surcharge on Antifoulings as Copper Price Spikes

Following the announcement in February that unprecedented raw material costs had created a dramatic new cost base for the marine coatings market, the continued record rise in the price of metals has now forced International Paint to apply a surcharge on all copper containing biocidal antifoulings. Brian Smith, International Paint’s Marine and Protective Coatings Commercial Director, said “Copper is a key raw material used extensively in biocidal antifoulings. The amount of copper contained in these product types means that it accounts for a significant proportion of product cost. While the price of copper has steadily increased four fold in the last 36 months, recent price rises have been dramatic; from $4,000 per ton in the last quarter of 2005 to a peak of over $8,500 per ton* last month. To date, International Paint has largely absorbed these increases. Unfortunately, due to the severity of the increases since the start of the year, we are left with no alternative but to pass some of our additional costs onto our customers in the form of a surcharge. It is hoped that this surcharge will be a temporary measure and that the current cost of copper is a market spike driven by unprecedented strong demand and constrained supply.”