Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd. (Hitachi Chemical) announced it will raise prices at least 10% for lead-acid batteries that will be shipped from April 1. Lead and other material prices soared, and physical distribution costs are rising. Hitachi Chemical judged that its cost reduction efforts are not enough to respond to these costs, and decided to raise prices for both automotive and industrial lead-acid batteries. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on January 26, 2018)