Mid-year survey: Critical condition
The coatings business in the first half of 2017 was between good and adequate for many companies. However, the raw materials situation is becoming a severe issue for paint and coatings producers in Europe. How content is the industry with the first half of the year?
The editorial staff of ECJ has asked leading heads of coatings producing companies across Europe to evaluate the first six months of 2017. The management was asked to rate the first half of the year on a scale from 1 to 6, with 1 being “very good” and 6 “very poor”. The average rating of 23 participating companies from all across Europe was 2.5. The results show a slightly mixed picture between decorative coatings and industrial coatings producers. Overall, the industrial coatings producers rated the first six months more positive than the decorative coatings producers. In their evaluation, the industrial coating suppliers rated with a 2.2 on average while the decorative coatings suppliers rated the first half with a 2.8.
Tensions regarding raw materials
The industry has got used to volatile markets and various challenges during the last years. The situation on the raw materials market is a huge issue for all coatings producers. Price increases for key raw materials seem to happen with no reason for many coatings producers. This development is affecting the margins, but coatings producers are still hesitant to increase their prices due to a tense competition in the sector. In addition to the price hikes, coatings producers are once again facing a shortage for certain raw materials, which makes the entire situation even more challenging.
In the July/August issue of the European Coatings Journal you can read the complete mid-year-survey with the statements of 27 leading heads from the industry about the first half of the year.
