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.