Current situation:
- Valve prices, according to the Producer Price Index, were flat month-over-month in December (up 0.2% M/M last month). On a year-over-year basis, prices were up 1.0% (up 2.3% last month).
Key factors that could affect supply or price:
Industrial valve competition continues to increase. Established manufacturers are evaluating how they go to market, which drives uncertainty in material availability and pricing. Lead times from China raw materials have started to come down along with softer U.S. demand has created domestic inventory for the first time in almost two years. We have not seen any price reductions from the trade reform pricing escalation dating back into early 2018.
