High raw material prices having a big impact, Panasonic CEO says

Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Panasonic Corp is pictured at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - Rising prices for raw materials, including nickel and copper, accelerated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine were having a big impact on Panasonic (OTC:PCRFY) Corp, with the Japanese industrial giant only able to pass on some of those increases to its customers, the CEO said.

We are able to pass on costs to some business clients depending on our contracts. Passing higher prices on to consumers is more difficult, said Yuki Kusumi, who oversees a company that makes products ranging from Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc's electric vehicle batteries to washing machines.

Panasonic, Kusumi said at a roundtable briefing, was responding by improving manufacturing machinery to help absorb the extra expense, but those measures were not enough cover big price increases.

The global price of nickel, much of it supplied by Russia to make batteries, has soared this year, reaching more than $100,000 a tonne in March.