This has been another tough year for ink industry purchasing executives and their teams. The COVID-19 pandemic has completely upended supply chains, and even as the pandemic is starting to lift even slightly, there is complete chaos in the supply chain, as we note in this slideshow. These are just a few of the factors:

• Shortages in key materials: There has been bottlenecks in the raw material supply. Pigments, resins, solvents and photoinitiators are among the key materials that are skyrocketing, and force majeures and allocations are making materials more scarce.
• Rising oil prices: Oil is key for resins, solvents and other feedstocks. It is also getting more expensive. In the last year, crude oil prices have risen from a low of $33.64 per barrel to $82.79 as of Oct. 19, 2021 per NY Mercantile.
• Natural disasters: This has led to force majeures in key segments.
• Inflation: This is little talked about, but it is part of the reality now.
• Transportation and logistics: This is a nightmare for ink companies. I’ve read reports that say 10% of shipping remains unable to dock due to a variety of issues, and once the products actually reach ports, they are delayed. Then there are containers for shipping products, which are scarce and naturally extra costly. Back in March, EuPIA reported that prices of containers between China and Europe have risen more than 400% since Q4 2020. I’m told it hasn’t gotten any better.
• Trucking: Once the product actually makes it through the maze and is released, there are severe shortages of truck drivers.

All of this has made life miserable for ink companies and their purchasing personnel. The industry is loathe to install price increases for its printer customers, and as I noted back on March 4, 2021, many of the leading ink producers had announced higher prices. As I said then, remember that many companies don’t officially announce price increases, but our Top International Ink Company reports show that many companies have done so.

These are just the announced increases as of April 2021.

• Sun Chemical: Effective Sept. 15, 2021, Sun Chemical announced immediate price increases in its portfolio of publication, packaging and commercial sheetfed inks, coatings, and adhesives in North America

Chris Parrilli, president of North American Inks, Sun Chemical, noted in the announcement that Sun Chemical’s top priority throughout 2021 has been to maintain the supply of products to customers.

“We have absorbed the higher costs of expedited freight, raw materials and other key inputs in order to achieve that objective,” Parrilli added. “The recent pace and magnitude of these costs have exceeded our ability to mitigate their impact and, despite various actions to help offset, it is crucial that we implement further price increases across our entire portfolio of products to continue to meet the needs of our valued customers.”

• Flint Group: On Oct. 18, 2021, Flint Group’s two divisions announced their own price increases. Flint Group Packaging announced price increases for its ink and coating products for the Flexible Packaging, Paper & Board and Narrow Web markets throughout the remainder of 2021.

“It is clear that inflationary pressures are having a considerable effect on our supply chains,” Doug Aldred, chief commercial officer – Flint Group Packaging, said in announcing the increases. “Unrelenting competition for resources and energy in markets still reeling from the effects of the global pandemic is a catalyst for compounding price increases of a scale not previously witnessed. We continue to face relentless cost and availability headwinds, across multiple procurement categories.”

“Acute shortages of essential feedstocks are jeopardizing the supply of all our key raw materials – the situation is particularly pronounced for photoinitiators,” Emmanuel Bareaud, president – Flint Group Narrow Web, added in the announcement. “Couple this with the pressure the global freight industry is under and it is evident that costs will continue to rise. As a matter of fact, some raw materials are reaching cost peaks not witnessed in 20 years or more.”

Meanwhile, Flint CPS announced price increases for its heatset and coldset inks in North America, effective Jan. 1, 2022.

“In order to ensure we meet our responsibilities to our customers, our temporary surcharge covering increased freight costs will be subject to an increase effective Nov. 1, 2021. Furthermore, a price increase for both heatset and coldset inks will be implemented, effective Jan. 1, 2022,” said Jean Menard, VP of web sales North America at Flint CPS.

• hubergroup: Citing “massively” rising costs, hubergroup announced price increases on Aug. 26, 2021.

“The satisfaction of our customers is our top priority,” Heiner Klokkers, CEO of hubergroup reported in the announcement. “To ensure that we can continue to offer them high-quality printing inks and raw materials in the future, it is unfortunately essential in the current situation that we reflect the significantly increased procurement costs in the prices of our products.”

• EFI: EFI announced price increases for its inkjet inks, parts and supplies, effective July 1, 2021.

“While we have taken consequential action to contain costs, lingering market challenges have led to a price adjustment needed to ensure continued, uninterrupted supply to our global customer base,” Scott Schinlever, COO, EFI Inkjet, noted.

• Doneck Network announced a price adjustment for its inks, effective Oct. 15, 2021.

“Apart from the raw material prices, which have rocketed due to numerous shortages in the supply chains of chemical raw materials and specific preliminary products, Doneck is now having to pay several times the usual rates for sea transport,” a Doneck official stated in making the announcement.

• Central Ink Corporation announced a 7% to 10% price increase for its inks, effective April 15, 2021.

“Worldwide reductions in operating capacity coupled with stronger demand have led to supply shocks, price increases, longer lead times, and increased logistics costs for chemical materials used in the manufacturing of printing inks, coatings, and pressroom chemistry products,” said Gregg Dahleen, president, Central Ink Corporation.

For printers, ink isn’t their own concern. I’ve seen a lot of substrate and equipment price increases as well.

The reality is that there are no indications that raw material pricing and availability and the transportation concerns are going to get better anytime soon. The ink industry and its supply chain, both upstream and downstream, are basically having to buckle up for the wild ride ahead.