Yes, merchant prices are finally creeping up, after years of...

Yes, merchant prices are finally creeping up, after years of getting squeezed at both ends (by suppliers and by customers).

And that's despite the fact that, until now there, has been excess manufacturer capacity. Gross margins appear to have held fairly steady. So whilst revenues have been in decline for years, and no doubt so have prices (rev per volume), it seems suppliers have also felt some of the pain (merchants have been able to extract some cost benefits from suppliers).

Recent price rises by merchants have given a reprieve. However, with supply tightening (thanks China), how much harder will it be to contain sales costs, going forward?