Reichhold has announced price increases of $ 0.05 per pound on all unsaturated polyester resins and $ 0.10 per pound for vinyl ester resins sold in the United States and Canada effective for orders shipped on or after January 1, 2005. This is in addition to the increase which took effect November 15, 2004.

"There has been a slight softening of recent crude oil prices, however that has been more than off-set by the tight supply situation for key raw materials such as propylene glycol and maleic anhydride," said Reichhold North American Director of Business Management, Composites, Bill Schramm. "Demand is outpacing supply and inventories have not been replenished significantly."

"Not only have the prices for glycols and maleic increased dramatically in recent weeks, many producers of unsaturated polyester resins are having a difficult time maintaining supply levels of these crucial products, further exacerbating the problem and driving prices up even higher," Schramm concluded.

For vinyl ester resin production, continued tight supply of bisphenol A and epoxy is driving the need for this increase. The escalating cost of feed stocks used in the production of bisphenol A and epoxy are key contributors to the increased cost of manufacturing vinyl ester resins.