2011 News

Shin-Etsu announces silicone products price increase

Tokyo, January 13, 2011 - Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo, President: Shunzo Mori) announced that it is going to increase the prices of all of its silicone products, one of Shin-Etsu's main products. The price increases for its silicone products will be for a maximum of 15%, both in Japan and overseas, effective for shipments made from February 1, 2011.

The demand for metallic silicon, the main raw material of silicone products, has been expanding for such applications as semiconductors and solar cells. Moreover, the tight demand and supply situation is expected to continue in the future, and a further steep rise in demand is expected. In addition, we are now being confronted with rises in the prices of raw materials such as rare metals and methanol, and an upward trend is also expected in the future. Furthermore, due to the sharp increase in crude oil prices, the costs of energy for manufacturing, such as for heavy oil and gasoline, are also continuing to rise.

Under these circumstances, Shin-Etsu has continued to make all-out company efforts to reduce manufacturing costs through the implementation of such measures as rationalization activities. Nevertheless, it has become difficult to absorb the entire burden of these increased costs only by internal company efforts. Thus, unavoidably, it has become necessary to put some increased costs on sales price of silicone products.

Silicone is a highly functional material that has both organic and inorganic characteristics. Silicones are used as products that can provide high-added value in a wide range of industrial fields such as the electrical, electronics, automotive, cosmetics, construction, and chemical industries.