We went to press this week with the December issue of P&S, in which we ran a feature story on “The Impact of the Rising Cost of Raw Materials.” This has been a critical concern in our industry this year . . . in particular with the escalating costs of steel, copper and aluminum in combination with increased labor costs in China and throughout Asia.

Our industry has felt some relief in recent months, but it is a trend that deserves further attention in 2009.

Since we put the December issue to bed, I finally had a little time to read my second favorite periodical, Tennis Magazine. Ironically, I opened it directly to a feature story on  . . . you guessed it . . . the rising costs of raw materials used to manufacture tennis equipment. It is always interesting when perspective slaps you right in the face.

According to the article, the cost of carbon fiber (the primary building block of most racquets) has doubled in the past two years while materials used to make tennis balls (petroleum, rubber and resin) are also feeling the squeeze. Just like in the pump and rotating equipment industries, manufacturers and distributors are looking for ways to pass the increases on to the customer without pushing themselves completely off the market share map.

It may seem like a stretch, but it is all relative. Am I willing to pay $2.99 for a can of balls instead of $1.99?  Of course. Maybe I'll wait till next year to buy another racquet (I have five of them, after all).

But when it comes to how these increases affect our industry, the price is significantly higher. When a pump goes down because a motor needs to be replaced and the cost of steel prevents that from happening, the impact is much more crucial.