Today they cannot exceed three to six months

Barely recovered from the crisis, the industry anticipate new challenges this year. The source of their anxiety The evolution of the prices of raw materials, strongly oriented to increase. This is the case of cereals and other agricultural materials, which increased the invoice of the agri-food industry. But also of the metals, petroleum products, gold, pulp, etc.

Among the first to pull the alarm, plastics processors deplore increases between 22 and 40 in January from the same month of 2010. In the wake of the oil from which they are manufactured, prices of propylene, a product that enters the composition of plastics, thus climbed 35 and 43 paraxylene!

"The situation of supply concern remains for some materials such as polyamide." "Elongate delivery times and are always referred to the risk of rupture", details the plastics industry Federation.

Some producers continuing to declare in "force majeure", supply problems have not disappeared. "Purchases remain disorganized with a lot of wasted time to find alternative solutions," said Thierry Charles, of Allizé-plastics.

Other clients of the chemists, the manufacturers of inks are also on the penalty. "With the crisis, our suppliers have reduced their production capacity." "Today, the application is distributed, but it will take at least 18 months to see new capabilities", anticipates Loïc de Surville, Director General France of Sun Chemical, the world number one of printing inks. In the meantime, prices rise, climb...

Commodities of the construction and automotive or aeronautical construction industries, metals have a similar evolution. A 9.660 dollars per tonne, copper received in December above history, which brought his earnings to 30 on a year. Tin flew because the rains that have flooded the mines in Indonesia, the world's leading producer. Aluminium and lead, yet not experiencing no problem of supply, they saw their prices advance respectively 11 and 5. And markets, experts are convinced that this trend will continue, due to the restocking of China and the strong industrial restart in the United States.

Shortage of cotton

Chinese consumption also very weighs heavy on the course of cotton, whose price has more than doubled last year, the highest increase since 1973. With this application, the production suffered floods that hit Asia this summer, causing a decline of 18 of production in Pakistan in 2010, and 5 in China. Accordingly, the wholesalers are obliged to pass on the increase of 30 of the purchase price on the actors of the textile industry. More serious, the shortage on the market of the cotton is not cyclical. Low in recent years, prices have not encouraged farmers to focus on this plantation and inventories are at their lowest level for 14 years. "Cotton costs 150 cents the book and the high price levels could still take 18 months to two years.". Before the outbreak, price offers that we our customers were valid one year. Today, they cannot exceed three to six months. "We adapt using polyester-cotton blends, using micro-fibers or juggling on the weight of products", explains Marc Cerf, General Manager of Dodo, the European leader of the quilt and pillow.

Finally, the luxury is not spared. Particularly citing the rise in the price of gold, the watchmakers Cartier and Audemars Piguet considering their turn to price increases.