Price Increases on Polyacetal and UHMW-PE Underway

Within this first quarter, we’ve been reporting on price increases underway for virtually all commodity resins, including commodity engineering resins ABS, PC, nylons 6 and 66 (as well as price increases in plastics additives). In many of these cases, the key factor cited has been increases in raw materials.

We are now alerted to price increases of some specialty engineered resins underway for second quarter, including polyacetals (POM), for which key applications include high-performance engineering components such as small gear wheels, eyeglass frames, ball bearings, ski bindings, fasteners, guns, knife handles, and lock systems.

Increases have also been announced for UHMW-PE. Applications for the UHMW-PE, which is a self-lubricating, high-strength, lightweight machinable material used for semifinished goods, can be found in markets like construction, automotive, agricultural, food and beverage, high-performance fibers and more. Here are two key suppliers and their announcements, also primarily attributed to rapidly rising costs in certain raw materials.

● DuPont: Effective April 1, or as contracts allow, DuPont Performance Materials will increase prices for all Delrin POM grades by about 10%. This will be applied in the Americas, although higher increases may be required for some specialty grades. The company cites increases in several raw materials, most significant of which both regionally and globally are higher methanol costs.

● Celanese: Effective April 1, the company has issued increases in the 20-25% range on its Hostaform and Celcon POM products in Europe and Asia. As for the Americas, the company noted that prices will be increased on a selective basis or as contracts otherwise allow.

Effective April 1, the company will increase prices of its GUR UHMW-PE in the Americas and Asia by 10%.