The European Alliance for SMC (c/o AVK-TV, Am Hauptbahnhof 10, D-60329 Frankfurt) has announced that processors of SMC and BMC will have to reckon with a further price increase again. The experts consider that the alignments will be in the range of 12 to 15%. The reason given for this increase is the considerable rise in transport and raw material costs – particularly the raw material costs for polyester resins, glass fibres and a number of aluminium-based fillers.

At the start of the year, the price increase in polyester resin was triggered primarily by the rise in styrene prices. In the wake of a pronounced increase in demand in Asia, styrene was in short supply on the spot market at times. Although styrene prices have fallen slightly, while still remaining somewhat above last year´s level, the price of maleic anhydride has been increasing since the spring. The producers of UP resins are not expecting prices to steady, particularly since material costs are still way above the December 1999 level and margins are still under pressure.

While sufficient quantities of polyester resin are available, suppliers of glass fibre are having difficulty in meeting market demand. Just before the summer months, a number of glass suppliers were no longer in a position to supply sufficient quantities, explained the experts from the European Alliance for SMC. It is hoped that market allocation will not return again, with SMC/BMC producers distributing quantities on a customer-by-customer basis. If the European glass producers cannot cover industry requirements, then there will be delays in deliveries in November and December already. According to information from AVK-TV, the glass industry is planning to align its prices for the third time this year in December.