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If you’ve been weighing spray foam insulation for your Atlanta home, here’s an honest heads-up: the price of spray foam materials has already gone up, and more increases are likely on the way. This isn’t a sales tactic — it’s what’s happening across the entire polyurethane supply chain right now.
Here’s what’s driving it.
The Raw Materials Behind Spray Foam
Spray foam is made by combining two petroleum-based chemicals — an isocyanate (MDI) and a polyol resin — along with additives like flame retardants. The two main components come from crude oil and natural gas. These raw materials account for more than 50% of the total manufacturing cost of spray foam insulation, so when their prices move, the cost of the finished product moves with them. National Toxicology Program
That’s exactly what’s been happening — on several fronts at once.
The Iran Conflict and the Strait of Hormuz
The biggest factor right now is overseas. Since the outbreak of the Iran war, disruptions to oil and petrochemical flows through the Strait of Hormuz have tightened global chemical supply and pushed plastics and polymer prices to roughly four-year highs, with $20–25 billion worth of petrochemical products normally passing through the Strait each year. National Toxicology Program
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for crude oil and natural gas — the feedstocks everything downstream, including spray foam chemicals, depends on. The closure of the Strait constrained naphtha flows to Asian chemical complexes, forcing force majeure declarations and tightening global availability, while ocean freight disruptions added emergency surcharges as vessels rerouted around Africa. EPA
The result hit fast: US polyurethane resin prices jumped 8.86% in a single week in March 2026, and analysts expect prices to stay elevated as long as crude oil holds above $85–90 per barrel and shipping disruptions persist. According to PUdaily, cumulative price increases for polymeric and monomeric MDI have approached 40% since January 2026, with TDI and polyether polyols climbing more than 20% over six months. EPAWoodWorks
North American Supply Is Tightening, Too
This isn’t only an overseas problem. Domestic MDI supply — the backbone of spray foam — is getting squeezed at the source.
In mid-May 2026, Covestro declared force majeure on all of its North American MDI products, citing unforeseen production issues. Around the same time, Dow’s North American MDI operations were reported to be facing similar problems, and shortages of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide — both needed to make isocyanates — added further strain. When the two largest MDI suppliers on the continent are both constrained at once, there’s very little slack left in the system.
Tariffs on Key Chemical Inputs
On top of the supply disruptions, trade policy is pushing costs up — and locking them in.
Anti-dumping duties of roughly 60% on MDI and 272.7% on TCPP flame retardant have been imposed on these critical chemical inputs from China, and those costs flow directly from manufacturers to distributors to contractors and ultimately to homeowners. TCPP is the flame retardant blended into spray foam to meet fire-code requirements, so a duty that steep on a key additive ripples straight through to finished foam pricing. Spray-on
And unlike a temporary supply hiccup, tariff-driven increases tend to stick. Historical data from the 2018–2019 steel and aluminum tariffs showed that prices never returned to pre-tariff levels, even after exemptions were later granted. Spray-on
What This Means for Atlanta Homeowners
When material costs rise across an entire industry, installers can’t absorb it forever — those costs eventually reach the homeowner. We’d rather be upfront about that than spring it on you later.
Suppliers are already making the squeeze visible. Across the foam industry, suppliers are pushing through double-digit price increases — in some cases topping 20% — while capping order volumes, a combination executives describe as unlike recent disruptions. Fiberlitetech
The takeaway isn’t to panic. It’s simply this: if spray foam is already part of your plan, the economics of moving sooner rather than later have shifted. Industry analysts expect 2026 to be a year of uneven stabilization at best, not a return to lower prices. Waiting for materials to get cheaper may mean waiting a long time — and paying more in the meantime, both for the foam itself and for the higher energy bills an under-insulated home racks up every month. USA Insulation
Lock In Before the Next Increase
At Southern Seal Insulation, we’ll give you an honest assessment of whether spray foam is the right call for your home — and if it is, we’ll help you get it done before the next round of material increases hits.
Get your free evaluation while current pricing holds.
Sealing comfort, saving energy.
Sources referenced:
- Iran war chokes petrochemical supply (Reuters via AOL)
- Middle East Conflict Sparks 8.9% Surge in US Polyurethane Resin Prices (ChemAnalyst)
- Polyurethane price surge driven by multi-factor convergence (PUdaily)
- 2026 Roofing Tariff Price Guide — MDI & TCPP duties (RoofVista)
- Foam Prices Are On The Rise (Profoam)
- MDI and TDI Market Review 2025 & 2026 Outlook (ResourceWise)
