During the last year, the industry has experienced more shortages than I have seen within my 30 years experience. In the past I have seen sharp price increases, and I have witnessed several shortages, and delivery delays due to material allocations coming from plastic resin manufacturers. This is the very first time I have seen all these issues at one time.
PTFE (TFE) and Kynar - PVDF both are on allocation.
These two resins are in short supply. The PTFE Sheeting product PTFE (TFE) and also Kynar manufacturing requires a mineral called Fluorspar which is mined in Mongolia and China. The world requirement for this mineral has risen significantly, and the supply has tightened. PTFE materials have high heat resistance, excellent chemical resistance and incredibly low co-efficient of friction (slippery) and is utilised in a great deal of purposes from non-stick fry pots and pans to ptfe tape for home use. This mineral is the key raw material within the production of fluoropolymers, fluorolubricants and quite a few refrigerants.This increase in demand bundled with general shortage of raw materials is mainly responsible for a dramatic price increase (almost double within the past year), shortages, and we expect these two factors to keep at it in the near future.
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