JUBAIL — Dow CEO Jim Fittering stated on April 23 that the company projects a 275 day-plus timeline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and normalizing supply chains. This forecast follows missile strikes on the Jubail petrochemical and industrial complex in Saudi Arabia.
The Jubail complex shut down at the end of March due to transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian missiles struck the facility on April 6 and April 7, and it remains offline. "I think a lot of that is going to be able to be repaired within that time frame. Just talking with our partners, I think they are actively working on repairs, and I don't hear anything from them that leads me to believe it's going to extend longer than this duration of this logistics constraint," Fittering said.
April producer price index data shows plastic resins and materials contributed to a 9.4 percent annual increase in processed goods prices. Victory Giant in China warned that the Middle East conflict could increase prices for copper and resin. Printed circuit board prices increased by up to 40 percent between March and April.
"In all probability, consumers probably will not hear 'PPE resin shortage' at the Apple Store, but they may feel it in higher prices, longer repair times, tighter launch inventory, and fewer discounts," Mark Vena, CEO and principal analyst at SmartTech Research, said. "I would expect upward pricing pressure across premium electronics, but not necessarily a clean 'resin surcharge' on the next iPhone," Vena said. "But insulated does not mean immune, because every iPhone still depends on high-reliability circuit boards and the same global materials web that everyone else uses," Vena said.
No independent assessment was available for this report.