Raw material costs surge across the board; all categories of Japanese building materials see price hikes and order suspensions

Driven by the resonance of multiple factors including significant increases in international crude oil and naphtha, geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, the continuous depreciation of the yen, and a shortage of sea and land logistics capacity, costs across the entire Japanese building materials industry chain have risen. Prices for products across all categories—including roofing waterproofing, coatings and adhesives, kitchen and bath sanitary ware, interior panels, and rain gutters—have been centrally raised, and many leading enterprises have simultaneously implemented measures such as production cuts, suspension of new orders, supply quotas, and delayed shipments.

Looking at manufacturer price adjustment plans from April to August, price increases are concentrated in June, July, and August. The divergence in increases across categories has widened, with the maximum adjustment for individual products reaching 80%.

I. Inventory of Price Increases by Sub-category: Waterproofing Coatings Lead the Rise, Kitchen and Bath Basic Materials Follow Across the Board

1. Prominent Increases in Roofing and Waterproofing Materials

Itochu Metal Roofing raised order prices starting in August; Sekano Kogyo steel plate building materials increased prices by over 15% in July; Tsuruya asphalt waterproofing materials rose by 53%, and Tajima waterproofing rolls increased by 40%-50% in May; Asahi Fiber asphalt shingles raised prices by 30% in July, and DuPont extruded insulation materials increased by 40%; Kikusui Chemical diluents saw increases ranging from 30% to 80%, marking the high end among all categories.

2. Coatings and Adhesives Become Key Areas for Price Hikes

Bonflon's full series of coatings increased by 8%~60%, and multiple water-based and weak-solvent coatings stopped accepting orders; SK Kaken coatings increased by 10%~30%, with supporting diluents rising simultaneously; Taiyo Seishi sealing adhesives increased by over 30%; Nitto Denko, Asahi DuPont, and Aica Industries saw general price increases of 15%~30% for adhesives and wall panels, with specialty building materials exceeding 30%.

3. Collective Price Adjustments for Interior Building Materials and Kitchen and Bath Brands

Daiken and Eitai Industry flooring and interior doors saw price increases successively in July; LIXIL, Panasonic, TOTO, and Noritsu raised quotes in batches for mainstream sanitary ware and whole-house building materials; Wood One home renovation materials increased by 15% from June to August; Chiyoda gypsum board increased by over 20%, with deep-processed products rising by over 50%.

4. Basic Building Materials and Rain Gutters Raise Prices Simultaneously

Kaimu rain gutters increased by 15%~30% in July; Kirii Seisakusho steel structure base materials raised prices by 20% in August; mainstream increases for outdoor landscape and geotechnical waterproofing materials were concentrated between 10% and 25%.

II. Industry-wide Suspension of Orders and Supply Limits, Significantly Extended Order Delivery Cycles

Compared to product price hikes, the impact of work stoppages, order suspensions, quota supply, and delivery delays on downstream engineering is more pronounced. The Japanese building materials industry is facing a wide wave of order suspensions.

· Brands Suspend Acceptance of New Orders: Tajima asphalt waterproofing has stopped accepting new orders across the board; TOTO bathroom units suspended new orders starting April 13; SK Kaken stopped accepting orders for multiple primers and anti-rust paints; Aica Industries limited orders for panels and adhesives in batches.

· Normalized Quota Control: Kaimu rain gutters have implemented supply caps, with non-residential product supply at only 80% of last year's level; Asahi Glass Wool and Mag Rock wool suspended orders multiple times, with total volume control upon resumption; Asahi Kasei, Hikichi, and others have limited production and shipment of waterproofing membranes and sealing materials, refusing to accept oversized orders.

· Significantly Extended Delivery Cycles: Panasonic bathroom unit delivery times have extended to over two and a half months; LIXIL kitchen and bath tile orders are backlogged, with schedules postponed to September; resin accessories and roofing accessories require queuing for 2~3 months after ordering, with most new orders from late April delayed for shipment until after July.

· Phased Flexible Suspension and Resumption of Orders: Taiyo Seishi temporarily suspended orders and resumed production in batches multiple times during the year; Wakai Industry and Fuji Chemical adopted models of temporary suspension and on-demand resumption, guiding customers to place orders rationally and prioritizing supply for essential needs.

III. Leading Enterprises Implement Production Limits and New Pricing Rules, Serving as Industry Supply Barometers

Major building materials leaders have successively introduced new rules combining price hikes with volume control, leading the trend of tightening industry supply:

· Aica Industries raised prices for metal exterior walls and roofing products by over 18% on June 1, with production limits and order suspensions for some sealing materials;

· Asahi DuPont waterproof breathable membranes increased by 10%~20% in May, with the company warning that delivery times may continue to extend;

· Kaimu set phased monthly supply quotas;

· Inagaki Shoji ships processed building materials based on historical sales volumes, and unstable sources of color steel plates may prevent new projects from signing contracts in July;

· SK Kaken and Tajima Waterproofing suspended orders for core categories, recommending the construction side switch to alternative raw materials to mitigate risk.

IV. Full-chain Cost Transmission Solidifies; Shortages and Price Hikes Have Medium-to-long-term Logic

Industry analysis indicates that this round of building material price hikes and supply shortages is not a short-term trend, but the result of top-down full-chain cost transmission from crude oil-naphtha-chemical raw materials-building material processing.

Geopolitical disturbances in the Middle East have driven up crude oil and raw material costs. Chemical raw material resources are prioritized for the food and livelihood sectors, squeezing the supply of building material raw materials. Combined with yen depreciation, transport capacity shortages, and labor shortages, manufacturers are unable to absorb costs and must pass them on to the terminal.

Even if geopolitical tensions ease subsequently, supply chain reconstruction and production schedule restoration will still take several months. The market generally anticipates that the industry may see a second or third round of price hikes, and categories such as insulation and metal roofing still have significant room for price increases; rising freight and construction site fuel costs continue to squeeze contractor profits.

V. Industry Risk Warning: Avoid Marketing Hype, Rational Arrangement of Procurement and Construction by Upstream and Downstream

Anxiety over market shortages is heating up, and some merchants are using price hikes as a gimmick to induce owners to sign high-priced contracts hastily. The industry advises home decoration and renovation projects to compare prices from multiple parties, detail material specifications and warranty terms, and avoid impulsive signing. Construction companies should lock in inventory and prepare goods in advance, optimize schedules, flexibly replace raw materials, and purchase in batches to mitigate the risk of work stoppages caused by supply cuts and cost fluctuations. Subsequent notifications of price adjustments and supply limits from various brands are expected to continue.