The trend for price increases continues into April and the foreseeable future. Since Duraline, a major player in HDPE pipe extruding, exited the marketplace last year, other manufacturers are doing their best to fill the vacuum, but these conditions have proven challenging for consumers. Currently, extruders are seeing full production lines, and with the uptick in energy demand, manufacturers are struggling to get product to end users in a timely fashion. Standard product is now out four to six weeks, and large diameter is out as much as 16 weeks. With demand staying strong and production lines running at 100%, it’s reasonable to expect prices will continue moving up until the summer when they might reach a plateau.

PVC prices increased slightly in March. Manufacturers indicated PVC and ABS raw materials are experiencing a steep increase, which has affected both PVC Schedule 80 and 40/DWV. Fitting increases have been announced as well. There is talk of another increase in April due to growing raw material prices.  As demand also seems to be increasing so far this spring, the likelihood of an increase holding appears more likely. The increases in resin prices along with potential for increased demand have caused most manufacturers of PVC to announce another increase in PVC DWV pipe prices in April. There is always a possibility that increases in oil and natural gas prices could drive resin prices higher.