Sonoco Raising Prices Because Of 'unprecedented Situation' Caused By Styrene Production Outages

Sonoco Products Co. said Monday it will raise prices on expanded polystyrene (EPS) parts and components by 10%, and on all Sonopost products by 7%, effective March 1. The move is in response to rapid price increases since October 2016 for styrene monomer, the key raw material in all EPS products. "Styrene production outages continue to impact prices," said Russell Grissett, general manager of Sonoco ThermoSafe. "This is an unprecedented situation, and it is creating a high level of uncertainty as to where pricing could be headed in the coming weeks." The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 1.9% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 7%.