Fuji Photo to raise film prices on silver spike

[bmattock]

FYI...

Kodak announced price increases in all of their lines of consumer and professional film last month, also due to rising prices of silver and oil. I had thought I saw a post along the same lines for Fuji here a couple of weeks ago, but perhaps not - I can't seem to locate that thread now. In any case, this appeared yesterday on the Reuters wire.

Funny thing is, this last weekend, my wife went grocery shopping - and when she returned, she looked thunderstruck; it seems the prices on many grocery items have gone up considerably - she spent quite a bit more on the same groceries we buy every week. They yesterday, the stock market takes a hit that is being blamed on rising inflation - cost of consumer goods. We noticed it just as it was happening - hard, and right in the wallet! I guess this is part and parcel of all of that.

In any case, I suspect that this puts to rest any notion that Kodak was just trying to be money-gougers and inventing fake cost increases to justify their price hikes. I recall one person said they weren't going to buy Kodak anymore due to Kodak's duplicity - so now what will you do; apparently the whole world is getting in on the act?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...051700510.html

Fuji Photo to raise film prices on silver spike

Reuters
Wednesday, May 17, 2006; 8:38 AM

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Fuji Photo Film Co (4901.T) said on Wednesday it would look to raise prices of camera film and other photosensitive material products due to the soaring cost of silver and crude oil, marking its first across-the-board price hike in over 25 years.

Fuji Photo, the world's second-largest maker of photographic film after U.S.-based Eastman Kodak (EK.N), said it was considering raising prices for a range of consumer and professional film by 3 to 20 percent worldwide from June.

The move comes on the heels of an announcement by Kodak last month that it would lift its prices by 3 to 17 percent from May 1. Kodak also cited the sky-high price of silver, a key raw material used to produce photo film.

Silver (XAG=) topped $15 an ounce earlier this month for the first time since January 1981 as funds and speculators actively bought the metal. Silver was currently trading at about $13.90.

It would be the first time in over a quarter of a century that Fuji Photo lifted prices across its film product line. The last time was 1980 when the billionaire Hunt Brothers of Texas sent silver to around $50 with an attempt to corner the market.

Fuji Photo has also been hurt by the soaring oil price because it uses plastics in many of its products including the cases that hold the film and in disposable cameras. The price of plastic is heavily influenced by the oil price.

"We may have taken steps to cut costs, but the sharp rise in raw materials prices has far exceeded our efforts," said a Fuji Photo spokesman.

Fuji Photo and Kodak will soon be the only two major producers of photographic film left as rival Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. (4902.T) made the decision earlier this year to pull out of the market due to slumping demand.

The departure of Konica Minolta is expected to benefit Kodak and Fuji Photo by easing supply. But the market is far from promising -- it is shrinking at about 20 percent each year due to the popularity of digital cameras, which don't use film.

Konica Minolta estimates its share of the global film market at just under 20 percent. Fuji Photo sees its share at 35 percent, while Kodak, which has been downsizing its film operations, is thought to control about 45 percent.

Fuji Photo's operating profit tumbled 57 percent to 70.44 billion yen ($643.8 million) in the past business year ended March 31, weighed down by costs to restructure its photo film division and hefty raw materials costs.

Shares of Fuji Photo closed on Tuesday 0.26 percent lower at 3,770 yen, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's chemicals index (.ICHEM.T), which rose 0.67 percent. -- additional reporting by Miho Yoshikawa and Chikafumi Hodo

© 2006 Reuters

[Solinar]

So be it - both silver and petroleum have been at a high point in commodities trading.

[filmgoerjuan]

The question then becomes will they lower the prices when the price of silver and oil goes down? Somehow I suspect not. That's when it becomes a money grab.

[bmattock]

Originally Posted by filmgoerjuan

The question then becomes will they lower the prices when the price of silver and oil goes down? Somehow I suspect not. That's when it becomes a money grab.

Get while the gettin' is good, right? Sadly, you're probably right.

Maybe they should change the chemical symbol of Silver from 'Ag' to 'Argh'.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

[JJW]

It seems most of you are all too young it seems to remember when this all happened once before in the 1970s and early 1980s. Record high oil and rising commodity prices = inflation.

Welcome to the future which looks a lot like the past. Big surprise, as my wife likes to say.

By the time the price of oil and silver comes down the money in your pocket will be worth a heck of a lot less. And the same thing for Fuji and Kodak when they earn their incomes in dollars.

Money grab, hardly, especially as their market is shrinking.

For all you PhD candidates in macroeconomics.... inflation is one way individuals in an economy "pay" for bad policy and stupid collective behavior. After you pay, you are left with less of an ability to buy. What economists say is that you are "poorer".

[darkkavenger]

I'll end up buying fomapan!

[bmattock]

Hey, I was around for "Whip Inflation Now" but I will admit I was a mere youngster (born in 1961). I remember the Hunt Brothers, as well.

The bright side is that I will be able to buy lots of dirt-cheap stocks after the bottom drops out and I'll be retiring before the NEXT dot-com-like bubble breaks, so I'll have cashed out and I'll be sitting on a boat somewhere laughing but evil old butt off.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

[bmattock]

Originally Posted by darkkavenger

I'll end up buying fomapan!

The whole company? Where would you keep it?

[darkkavenger]

Oh no, I'll just their shop in Prague who sells directly from the factory And then I can sell you all cheap Fomapan

[bmattock]

Originally Posted by darkkavenger

Oh no, I'll just their shop in Prague who sells directly from the factory And then I can sell you all cheap Fomapan

Go for it! Fomapan is good stuff.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

[darkkavenger]

[HIJACK]
For those who don't know Fomapan, here's a little sample [sorry for hijacking the thread]
Fomapan 400 [120] (shot with a TLR, sorry) : http://www.deviantart.com/view/26154155/

I'm using Foma paper and Foma chemicals for my wet prints, they give excellent results.
[/HIJACK]
sorry!

Originally Posted by darkkavenger

I'll end up buying fomapan!

If Fuji price increase is due to the rise in the price of silver - one would expect that Fomapan will also go up! Or do they use something other than silver?

[darkkavenger]

I suppose they too use silver, however (at least here in Prague) Fomapan is still way cheaper than other film brands. I'll go check this in about 8-10 days, for now I'm getting tight on cash and I prefer to avoid photography stores & labs.

[phototone]

I was around, and in the PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO business in the 1970's and 1980's when we had the Hunt Brothers Silver cornering move. Prices went up and stayed there except for materials that were competetive. In other words high quality "art" b/w papers stayed up, but the color paper market, due to being highly competetive with many players came down and thus it was possible to purchase color paper for considerably less money than b/w paper, and may still be. At one time Kodak, Konica, Mitsubishi, Agfa, and others all sold roll color paper to the photofinishing market.

[Jerevan]

Yesterday, while reading this thread, I checked my "local" swedish webshop for film prices.

Well, there were recent price hikes - maybe due to lapsing sales and/or silver prices peaking. What I found strange is that the Efke films, which have been really low cost comparatively ($35.60 for a 30 m roll earlier), suddenly got a serious price hike, bringing it up to almost the prices of Kodak films. So now a 30 m roll of Efke costs $53, while the same amount of Plus-X or Tri-X costs $58.50 (no price hike). Exchange rate 7.50 Swedish Kronor to US$ 1. Given the small difference in price and the higher QC of Kodak, Tri-X all of a sudden looks like a "bargain".

I guess this shop sells a lot more of Kodak films, which makes it possible to keep the prices down, while the Efke moves more slowly, and gets a higher price.

[John Camp]

Why would silver push the cost of photography? Epsons don't use silver, and sensors are made from silicon.

JC

[bmattock]

Originally Posted by John Camp

Why would silver push the cost of photography? Epsons don't use silver, and sensors are made from silicon.

JC

For the cost of the silver spike they're going to drive into your heart for saying that...

But I thought it was funny, anyway.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks