Why The U.S. Is Running Out Of Paint

Demand for raw materials in the paint industry soared over the pandemic as quarantined consumers took to DIY projects and home improvement. But supply couldn't keep up as global trade networks broke down amid the Covid surge.

Watch the video above to learn more about how the paint supply chain works, what it takes to manufacture paint and why prices are rising.

Demand for raw materials in the paint industry soared over the pandemic as quarantined consumers took to DIY projects and home improvement. But supply just couldn’t keep up.

“The raw-material shortage is still something we have a meeting once a week to discuss what are we out of this week,” Jeff Grasty, president of Florida Paints, told CNBC.

Sales at paint and wallpaper stores in the U.S. spiked 7.8% annually in June 2021 to $1.34 billion. The pace of sales increases has slowed but is nevertheless robust. For example, the latest data available shows a sales total of $1.1 billion in November.

Two of the largest paint companies, Sherwin-Williams and PPG, have said worsening supply chain shortages are impairing their ability to manufacture products.

That impairment is due to a confluence of factors. Paint companies source pigments from global trade networks, making their products vulnerable to supply chain issues and climate change.

“To make a gallon of paint the exact same as the next one, you have to have that same amount of color pigment in it,” Tony Piloseno told CNBC.

Piloseno started his own paint company and now works with Florida Paints. He fell in love with mixing paint at a part-time job during his college years, and now he brings that love of color to his large TikTok following.

“I get orders that sometimes I can’t even keep up with,” Piloseno said.

So far the higher prices haven’t put a lid on sales. Indeed, producer prices for painting and coating manufacturing rose 15.7% in December 2021 from a year ago. For comparison, on a 12-month basis, the producer price index was up 9.7% to end 2021, the highest calendar-year increase since 2010.

“If nothing else happens in the chemical supply chain, we’re forecasting the fourth quarter of 2022, and possibly into the first quarter of 2023, before we see some sort of normal,” said Dan Murad, CEO of the ChemQuest Group.

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Why The U.S. Is Running Out Of Paint

[handlealreadytaken]

It's like CNBC has a dart board where they basically do the same video but with different products.

[genes.]

Our HOA used to require repainting every five years. I persuaded the board to change it to seven years. My house is due to be repainted this year, and it still looks good. Paint lasts longer than it used to.

[callmeosho]

If this keeps up the US will run out of things to run out of.

[mackpines]

Well, since it seems like we're having a shortage of everything, why not move on to paint.

[dedhampster]

I am starting to think there are no shortages of product or labor. I think business just gave up and blame everything on covid. It is odd that there is plenty of product on the shelf at lowes and home depot, but the price is higher. That is not a shortage, that is price hiking. It is the same in every store for every dept all the way from Macy's to Goodwill. There is stuff, but the price is higher than ever. And all these companies are not exactly paying their production staff more either. In 2020 and 2021 a lot of businesses recorded the same if not higher profits. If we, the consumers, want to send a clear message we should stop consuming. Dont to renovation, dont buy clothes, buy minimal groceries and gas. Just dont consume and watch them cry that they cant sell at the made up price.

[bernardscheidle]

One reason we are running out of stuff is because Harvard business school jerks, in an effort to maximize profit, said "let's move all our suppliers to the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, to basically one country and one factory. My grandma would call that "putting all your eggs in one basket." WHAT could POSSIBLY go WRONG??? Gee, I don't know, I thought the sun always shined, and it never rained, and you would never ever need an umbrella.

[Tanstin]

We get it. Everything is in short supply.

[Prisoner-jfvi]

At this point they can do anything they want and just blame COVID

[Adrenalinejunkie]

I work in paint sales at Lowes and we have been out of exterior paint bases in quarts for over a month. Every day I have to tell people I can only do gallons in our exterior paints and they act like I'm on commission trying to upsell them or something. It's amazing how seemingly intelligent people don't understand why we can't open a gallon and split it into quarts on site. The bases have a very precise amount in the can that our tint machines use in the formulas to get the final color. They'll be looking at a Pure White and Snowbound side by side that are so close in tone you can barely see the difference and they think I can pull out measuring spoons and achieve the accuracy of a calibrated $12, 000 tinter. I get their frustration but the blowback from some of them towards people like me is beyond the pale.

[scpatlnow]

All paint pigments come down to 6 primary colors. The warm primaries like golden yellow, scarlet, and royal blue, and the cool primaries lemon yellow, magenta, and turquoise (the names change for different companies, but these are all single pigment colors). There was a big plant in India that produces a lot of the blue pigments that exploded last year, and many companies are still scrambling to find alternative sources (and some are selling some really inferior stuff). This not only affects paint, but also dyes used in fabric too.

[scottygambles]

One thing there's no shortage of is CNBC videos about shortages.

[aleksandersuur]

Pandemic or how "Just in time" bit everyone in the rear. The basic idea isn't wrong, but maxing it out indiscriminately for every resource ends up risking the business to save pennies. You can't forget that JIT only works if you can get guaranteed supplies when you in fact need it, not three months later. Yes inventory ties up funds, but is it such a bad thing in high inflation economy? Not really.

[divianschwitzle]

With the worsening climate.... Shortages are only bound to get worse and prices are bound to increase further. Not just in paint. But everything.

[pasqualinamichelaconsiglio]

In Canada most landlords state in their agreement that the place must look the way as the day they moved in. So, if a renter paints, they have to paint the wall/room back to the original colour. Now, renters are either painting accent walls, using wallpaper, stone, plank and so forth.

[josephjohnson]

Excellent summary of the issues facing the Paint and Coatings Industry!

[Alexandra-xtvf]

And here I thought the kid at my home improvement store was lying😄 A gallon of exterior was $50 to $60😳

[hbarudi]

They rely exclusively on a few starting materials, use different materials for paint, but yes TiO2 is a vital material and is used not just in paint, even solar cells use this material...

[jrb]

Cant speak for other companies but know first hand Sherwin-williams' response to the shortage was severely lacking and left up to the store level associates to handle.

[timothydevries]

This is BS, the paint I buy at Menards is cheaper than it's ever been in the last 10 years. Supply chain excuses for price gouging.

[adamc.]

Well paint certainly wasn't on my "What's Out Of Stock Now" Bingo card!