The earthquake in Chile may impact the cost of copper-laden goods around the world, including HVAC equipment, which uses copper for many components, because Chile is the largest exporter of copper in the world.

Billy Jobe, district manager for Comfort Supply Inc., a distributor of Ruud

HVAC products, says his company will be warning contractors about price increases resulting from copper shortages. 

Manufacturers will already have purchased all the copper they need for this year, Jobe said. But next year, he believes, we can expect to see increased costs due to the earthquake’s effect on the copper mines in Chile. 

The recent earthquake halted operations in Chile’s copper mines for several days, causing worldwide metal prices to increase. On the London Metal Exchange, copper prices rose 3.7 percent in the days following the devastating earthquake.

We have already received some notices from our suppliers letting us know that the copper shortage is going to mean higher prices, Jobe said. 

Copper is a major component of the materials used to manufacture and install

HVAC units, Jobe said. So contractors should expect to see suppliers raising prices and should expect to raise their own rates in return.