Citing the increased cost of fuel and raw material needed to make laminate flooring, the maker of Pergo and Uniboard said it will increase prices on those two lines by 5 percent beginning May 15.

“Over the past five years, we have taken extraordinary steps to reduce the costs of producing laminate flooring and have passed along the savings to our customers,” explained George Kelley, president and CEO of Pfleiderer’s North America Flooring Business Unit, which includes Pergo and Uniboard.  “However, production and distribution costs now have risen so dramatically that we have no choice but to share the burden of these increases with our retail partners.”

Kelley specifically noted a recent jump in the cost of woodchips and methanol/resin – which has boosted the cost of MDF/HDF – as key contributing factors to the pending price increase.

“There is no good time for a price increase – especially during the housing crisis and economic recession that we are experiencing in the flooring industry,” continued Kelley.  “However, we cannot continue to absorb these extraordinary costs and maintain the acceptable margins that shareholders of Pfleiderer demand and expect.”