Paint prices increased twice in the last 6-7 months last year and have already risen once again this year. I was informed by my local sales rep that just about all paint manufacturers raised their prices and this was because of rising Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) prices.
Out of curiosity, I did a little digging around to find out the amount of truth to this or was there a little bit of greed involved. It seems as though this is the reason for the rise in prices, at least this last time.
What is titanium dioxides role in paint? Primarily it helps the paint’s hide, or ability to cover. Calcium carbonate can be added to reduce the need for the usual quantity of TiO2, but only about 10%-15% more can be added before paint quality is affected. Dow Chemical has recently come out with a new technology called Evoque which can also reduce the amount of TiO2 required for each gallon of paint without affecting paint quality. Now when this will be implemented, I can’t say, but at least it’s a step in the right direction. Also, since production output was signifigantly reduced during the repression era, it will take a while for production to be ramped back up to previous levels. Probably somewhere in the timeline of 2014.
Another cause for the price increase was the increased demand for TiO2 in paints and coatings brought about by the raise in level of living for many of the poorer nations around the world. Not something we readily think about in the U.S. with our painted houses, inside and out. Many places around the world don’t have painted dwellings. This shift has increased demand in an industry that had already cut back production, kinda serving us a double whammy, if you will.
From the looks of things, we will only see prices increase, even if slowly, over the next year, year and a half before they start to level off again. I really don’t see them going down any, even once production is ramped up to meet demand and with emerging technologies such as the EVOQUE by Dow Chemical. Such is life though and we will deal with it as it comes.
Sources quoted: (1) http://www.icis.com/chemicals/titanium-dioxide/
(2) http://www.stockpricetoday.com/indices/dupont-faces-problems-due-rise-price-titanium-dioxide/
(3) http://www.dow.com/coating/hiding/20110324a.htm