55% plastic price spike has toymaker worried about Christmas

Source: Los Angeles Daily News/Bloomberg

PUBLISHED: April 8, 2026 at 10:32 AM PDT


Surging prices for plastic caused by disruptions from the Iran war have pushed one US toymaker to buy up more inventory than needed before the conflict boosts costs even higher.

Factories in China, Vietnam and India have seen price hikes as high as 55% for materials such as low-density polyethylene, a widely used plastic, according to Rick Woldenberg, chief executive officer of Learning Resources Inc. There have also been reports of shortages, he said. “We’re concerned about supply for Christmas,” Woldenberg said. That’s why he bought about a month’s worth of goods earlier than usual. The company is “spending money ahead of the problem rather than waiting and seeing what happens.”

Despite the higher costs, the toymaker is trying to keep consumer prices steady, according to Woldenberg. So far, the factories the company works with are taking on much more of the burden, he said.

Woldenberg is also trying to stock up ahead of what he expects will be higher US tariffs later this year. The toymaker has been on the front lines of the pushback against President Donald Trump’s trade policies. The firm was a lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that struck down some of Trump’s levies. “The president said he has every intention to tax me, and tax me more,” Woldenberg said. The war has disrupted the supply chain for the plastics industry, and that’s hurt production of petrochemicals used in lots of manufactured products.

Read more: https://www.dailynews.com/2026/04/08/55-plastic-price-spike-has-toymaker-worried-about-christmas/