WEB EXCLUSIVE: Up, up, and away: Resin prices soar

While the pain is no less real, it's not much of a surprise to industry watchers that most major resin suppliers have announced price increases in the past four weeks. The driving force behind the mass-migration upward is, as usual, the cost of crude oil.

According to a Bloomberg news report, oil prices reached record heights of $133 per barrel in May, and are currently hovering around $123 per barrel. This is an 89% increase from a year ago. A report from Goldman Sachs expects the overall rise to last. Its analysts predict long-date oil prices will climb 14% to $148 a barrel by early next year.

Bloomberg reported that the plastics industry will be among the hardest hit as raw material price volatility continues. The following table of price increase announcements gives credence to that observation. (All increases apply to North America unless otherwise noted.)