Total shipments in Q1 up 9% y-o-y, but shipments to distributors down 2%

摘要

Several extruders report that their plants are running flat out, producing to capacity, in order to satisfydemand. Lead times have been reported in a wide range, from as low as three weeks to as long as twelveweeks. CRU contacts in the architectural and automotive businesses describe demand being so good thatit is difficult to properly serve the market, because lead times are so long that they cannot servicecustomers the way they would like with shorter lead times.