Industry Expert Sees Likelihood of Continued Increases in TiO2 Prices, Warns of Pressure on Coatings Makers' Margins
A potential upward spiral in titanium dioxide (TiO2) prices could exert significant additional profit-margin pressure on coatings manufacturers in the next few years, a longtime TiO2-industry executive warned at a recent industry conference.
Bruce Zwicker, formerly vice president of Millennium Chemicals' Global Coatings Business who remains active in the industry, said further hikes in TiO2 prices are a good bet -- with TiO2-capacity tightness a real possibility as early as 2004.