Paints and coatings (US): cost structure and price drivers
Materials 56%, labour 11%, energy 1% of the cost. A price set 12 months ago justifies about +9.4% today (+6.1% to +12.6%).
Cost structure
NAICS 325510 · Data 2026-09
| Element | Share | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | 56% | US Census, Economic Census 2022 (NAICS 325510) |
| Labour | 11% | US Census, Economic Census 2022 (NAICS 325510) |
| Energy | 1% | US Census, Economic Census 2022 (NAICS 325510) |
| Other | 32% | US Census, Economic Census 2022 (NAICS 325510) |
What each driver did
| Driver | Share | Series | 3 months | 12 months | 24 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chemicals | 56% | Industrial chemicals (BLS:WPU061) | −2.5% | +13.1% | +10.1% |
| electricity | 0% | PPI Commodity data for Fuels and related products and power-Industrial electric power, not seasonally adjusted (WPU0543) | +3.3% | +4.2% | +7.6% |
| natural gas and fuels | 0% | PPI Commodity data for Fuels and related products and power-Industrial natural gas, not seasonally adjusted (WPU0553) | −2.2% | +0.7% | +16.4% |
| wages | 11% | Average hourly earnings of all employees, manufacturing, not seasonally adjusted (CEU3000000003) | +1.1% | +3.9% | +8.1% |
| producer prices (overhead and margin) | 32% | PPI industry data for Paint and coating manufacturing, not seasonally adjusted (PCU325510325510) | +1.5% | +5.0% | +7.9% |
What increase is justified today
| Price set | Justified today | Range |
|---|---|---|
| 6 months ago | +6.7% | +4.3% to +9.1% |
| 12 months ago | +9.4% | +6.1% to +12.6% |
| 24 months ago | +9.2% | +6.4% to +11.9% |
What producers charged
| Producer price index | Latest | 3 months | 12 months | 24 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPI industry data for Paint and coating manufacturing-Product finishes for original equipment manufacturers (OEM), excluding marine coatings, not seasonally adjusted (PCU3255103255104, Index Jun 1983=100) | — | — | — | — |
Sources
- US Census, Economic Census 2022 (NAICS 325510)
- Industrial chemicals (BLS:WPU061, bls)
- PPI Commodity data for Fuels and related products and power-Industrial electric power, not seasonally adjusted (WPU0543, bls)
- PPI Commodity data for Fuels and related products and power-Industrial natural gas, not seasonally adjusted (WPU0553, bls)
- Average hourly earnings of all employees, manufacturing, not seasonally adjusted (CEU3000000003, bls)
- PPI industry data for Paint and coating manufacturing, not seasonally adjusted (PCU325510325510, bls)
Ask with your own numbers
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Fill in {requestedChange} as a fraction (0.09 is +9 %), or replace it with oldPrice, newPrice and currency; {oldPriceDate} and {effectiveDate} as YYYY-MM.
Method
The cost structure splits what producers in this industry spend into materials, labour, energy and the rest, from public statistics where they exist and labelled as an estimate where they don't. Each driver is a public index. A justified increase is each share times its driver's move since the old price, summed, with a range for how sure the shares are. The producer price index shows what producers actually charged over the same time.