Consistent increases in commodity costs prompts pricing action.
Lake Mary, Florida, June 13, 2008 – The Power Products Medium Voltage (PPMV) Division of ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announces an immediate price increase between 8% and 11% on all new quotations for medium voltage (15 kV–38 kV) outdoor dead tank breakers and reclosers. The price increase is immediate for all quotations. For existing contracts, customers will be contacted to review the impact on an individual basis.
This action comes following sustained high raw material costs (carbon steel, stainless steel, electrical steel, aluminum, copper, and transportation fuel) for our equipment. Carbon steel has increased by more than 190% over the past year. Additionally, prices for other major raw materials have remained at record levels. Our discussions with suppliers indicate no downward trend in commodity prices.
Furthermore, transportation costs remain at historic levels, equating to an average increase in shipping costs of 212% in the last year, and 250% over the last two years. ABB has not reflected the increase in transportation costs to our customers in past price increases. However, due to the severity and longevity of these increases, ABB will apply a separate fuel surcharge to all orders and quotations in order to offset these costs.
ABB’s continued investment in technology helps offset these price escalations by lowering our customer’s operations and maintenance costs over the life of the product. The R-MAG™ magnetically actuated breaker eliminates all maintenance on the operating mechanism, reduces inventory of spare parts and provides a longer operating life. The OVR Recloser with PCD control allows full backwards and forward compatibly for hardware and software, thus lowering total ownership and training costs. In fact, a recent study at one of our major customers found despite higher start up costs, the use of ABB automated reclosers lowers overall system costs by reducing outages.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs more than 110,000 people.