According to an online magazine Rubber & Plastics News, Cabot Corp. – one of the global players on the virgin carbon black market – will increase prices on all carbon black products sold by its Reinforcement Materials segment in North America.

Effective July 1, the 6 cents per pound price rise will address "the increasing costs to provide reliability and supply assurance to customers," Cabot said in a May 24 statement. In addition, Cabot said it is investing $200 million in nitrogen oxide (NOX) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) reduction projects to meet requirements set by the Environmental Protection Agency's emissions control initiative.

The magazine reports the company’s operating costs are "increasing substantially" as the systems are put into service to meet industry deadlines in 2021 and 2022. Cabot asserted it also was making "significant investments" in its manufacturing network to ensure equipment reliability "even at high plant utilizations." The company said it would increase carbon black prices in North America by another $0.05 per pound. This surcharge will take effect July 1.

According to Cabot, the carbon black price increase is due to surging fuel oil indices in North America.

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