At present, we can expect prices to continue to rise and delivery bottlenecks to occur. Well-known manufacturers are already experiencing delivery bottlenecks for PVC electrical distributions, trunking and also switch/socket ranges. All important raw materials are currently expensive and available stocks at the manufacturers will soon be exhausted. The price of copper, nickel, tin, silver, aluminium and steel, as well as oil/natural gas as the basis for PVC, an important material in the electrical industry, is currently rising astronomically.
This development is fuelled by speculators and massive purchases of raw materials from Asia and the USA. Wood prices are also dizzyingly high, often an indicator of extraordinary times, ahead of other important commodities. The global zero interest rate policy could now be the "tipping point" for very exceptional circumstances, in combination with further rising prices. Hopefully, the situation will ease in a few weeks or months.
However, we will also have to reckon with rising prices in the future, due to the burden on the economy and state budgets caused by coronavirus. At the moment, consumer prices for electrical installations can still be described as moderate, with the exception of a few manufacturers. Niedax and OBO have seen the largest noticeable price increases in recent weeks.
