EPDM producers seeking price increases

AKRON (March 13)—U.S. EDPM rubber producers are trying to boost prices from 5 to 20 cents a pound to offset cost increases, according to their customers. Executives at rubber product companies said DSM Elastomers announced a 20 cents per pound increase, while Exxon-Mobil Chemical Co. and the Uniroyal Chemical division of Crompton Corp. seek 5 cents per pound hikes. The EPDM customers said DSM Elastomers' increase took effect March 1. The dates of the other companies' price changes weren't known. DSM and Exxon spokesmen won't comment on price changes. No one could be reached at Uniroyal. Bayer is the fourth company that produces EPDM in the U.S., but no information was available as to whether the company announced a price increase. While energy and feedstock costs are skyrocketing, EPDM producers also have been hit hard in pricing. The latest index of producer prices from the U.S. Department of Labor, through September 2002, showed prices in the ethylene-propylene rubber category—primarily EPDM—eroded 15 percent over a one-year period.