According to DuPont, the magnitude of the cost increases is so great (e.g., 25 percent to 50 percent resin increases) that the internal efforts to mitigate the impact on customers, such as six sigma productivity improvement projects, have failed to keep pace with the added cost burden.

Dave Lazzeri, president, DuPont Powder Coatings, Americas, states that, "we are hopeful that the higher raw material price levels will attract more capacity and stiffer competition to drive costs back down. This remains to be seen and is certainly not in the near term offering."