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Jersey City, N.J. — Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials will implement a tin surcharge covering the dramatic increase in the cost of tin on all invoices for ALPHA solder paste at such time that the London Metal Exchange price exceeds $9,500/metric ton.
The Surcharge calculation is based on official LME pricing (www.lme.co.uk), which confirmed that tin prices more than doubled in the last six months versus the previous two-year average. On May 27 the price of tin broached the $10,000/per metric ton psychological level. Adding to the upward price pressure on tin, some analysts and research groups suggest that the production of tin for 2004 will be approximately 6 percent less than the demand. Prices for other metals over the same period also have risen sharply, with copper up 91 percent, lead up 128 percent, nickel up 146 percent and silver up 95 percent. The surcharge does not address the cost increases for these metals.
Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials Group says that 63 percent of 90 percent of the solder paste it ships worldwide is tin. As soon as tin prices drop below $9,500 per metric ton, Cookson Electronics will rescind the surcharge.
Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials, a Cookson Electronics company, is the global leader in the development, manufacturing and sales of innovative materials used in electronic assembly processes. For more information, visit www.alphametals.com.
