High oil prices driving up cost of carbon fiber by 10-30%

Two of the world's largest suppliers of carbon fiber are planning to raise costs of the already expensive material, largely due to higher costs of crude oil - a key component in carbon fiber's manufacture. Toray Industries and Mitsubishi Rayon Co. have announced that carbon fiber prices will rise by 10-30%, with Toray expecting a price rise of 10-20% and Mitsubishi Rayon expecting an increase of around 20-30%.

While Toray and Mitsubishi are the first and third-largest producers of carbon fiber, the second-largest producer Teijin has yet to announce its own price hikes but these are expected to be forthcoming in the next week.

The price rises will be applied on August shipments, which should see the current price of carbon fiber rise from ¥4,000 ($37) to up to ¥5,200 ($48.14) per ton. This price rise is expected to have repercussions in several industries, most notably the airline construction industry which relies heavily on carbon fiber's light weight and strength. Carbon fiber is also used extensively in F1 and other forms of motorsport, yachting, skiing and other such applications.

Auto manufacturers may have to hold off on introducing carbon fiber as a mainstream construction material and leave it in the realm of expensive sports cars for now. Even luxury manufacturers will be affected adversely by the price rise, and if the price of carbon fiber maintains its current trend then these extra costs could be borne by consumers in coming years.