Dow Raising All Prices as Much as 20 Percent

Midland, MI, May 28, 2008--Dow Chemical Co. said that effective June 1 it would hike prices on all its products by up to 20 percent because of the sharp rise in the costs of energy, raw materials and transportation.

The company said its cost of energy and feedstocks jumped 42 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, and the jump in crude oil and natural gas prices was continuing.

"For years, Washington has failed to address the issue of rising energy costs and, as a result, the country now faces a true energy crisis, one that is causing serious harm to America's manufacturing sector and all consumers of energy," Chief Executive and Chairman Andrew Liveris said in a press release.

Prices for natural gas, a key feedstock for the chemical industry, have increased by 56 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange since the end of 2007, and crude oil prices have rallied 32 percent to more than $125 per barrel.