Mar 1 2010
Lower volume trends were the most visible characteristic of earnings releases for building materials companies during 2009, a trend likely to persist during the early part of this year, according to Fitch Ratings in its latest quarterly report on building materials volume and pricing trends.
Though global demand and construction spending remains weak, many U.S. building materials companies may see continued higher effective prices over the next few quarters, albeit at diminishing rates.
While certain building materials such as wallboard, aggregates and cement have seen some price erosion in recent quarters, some coatings companies have announced price increases over the past few months. However, the benefits of these price increases will most likely not be evident until second half-2010. 'Customers may become more resistant to incremental price increases if demand remains weak and energy and raw material costs do not meaningfully inflate further,' said Director Robert Rulla.
Source: http://www.fitchratings.com/