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 Glass Industry Biz News 

June 15, 2000

Energy costs cited as major reason for price increase.

Several major primary glass manufacturers have sent letter announcing price increases in the 8-11% range this past week. The following is notice from Pilkington, which is fairly representative of others.

June 14, 2000

To Our Valued Customers:

Over the most recent months, we at Pilkington North America have been aggressively attacking the cost side of our business. We have dramatically reduced our overhead as well as plant manufacturing costs in an effort to remain competitive in the building products glass market. Unfortunately, energy, which is a major cost driver and one over which we enjoy very little control, has been climbing exponentially since last summer.

The price of natural gas for our float tanks and fuel for our delivery trucks has more than doubled over the last few months. Unfortunately, we do not see any signs of significant relief in the near term.

Therefore, the prices for all Pilkington glass products will be increased by 9% beginning with shipments of July 3, 2000. We hope that we will be able to mitigate these skyrocketing energy costs by virtue of this announced price increase. We cannot, however, at this time predict the future variances in energy pricing. To the extent that excessive energy costs remain financially detrimental, we would anticipate further price increases or fuel surcharges to be possible.

Thank you for your business, and we look forward to your continual support.

Sincerely,

Vice President Sales and Marketing
Building Products/Specialty Glass-Products