Throughout the last year, the market has experienced more shortages than I’ve come across during my thirty years experience. In the past I have seen sharp price increases, and I have witnessed several shortages, and delivery problems as a result of material allocations from plastic resin manufacturers. This is definitely the very first time I have seen all these issues at the same time.

Polytetraflouroethylene (TFE) and Kynar both are on allocation.

These two resins are in short supply. The  PTFE Sheet suppliers product PTFE (TFE) and also Kynar-PVDF  manufacturing requires a mineral called Fluorspar that is mined in Mongolia and China. The world need for this mineral has increased significantly, additionally, the supply has tightened. PTFE materials have high heat resistance, excellent chemical resistance and extremely low co-efficient of friction (slippery) and is utilized throughout dozens of applications from non-stick fry pans to ptfe tape for home use. This particular mineral is the essential raw materials within the production of fluoropolymers, fluorolubricants and lots of refrigerants.This surge in demand combined with general shortage of raw materials is responsible for a dramatic price increase (almost double over the past year), shortages, and we expect these two factors to continue in the near future.

sheet plastic