A shortage of these materials has resulted in a decreased supply of pavement-marking paint.
• Acrylic resin: The backbone of all waterborne traffic paint. The cost of propylene, a key component of acrylic resin, has increased in price more than 80 percent in the last six months.
• Rosin esters: The main resin system used in some thermoplastics, laid down to create crosswalk stripes or turn arrows on pavement. Poor resin crops and increased demand from roadway projects in Asia have driven up costs.
• Liquid epoxy resin: The glue for epoxy paint. Breakdowns at a major chemical-manufacturing plant in Texas created a short supply of this material, driving prices up more than 30 percent.
• Titanium dioxide (TiO2): White pigment used in all white roadway paint, thermoplastic and epoxy. The major global producer of titanium dioxide scaled back production because of the economic downturn. There was also a fatal explosion at a production facility in the United Kingdom, resulting in a six-week plant closure.
Source: American Traffic Safety Services Association