The rising costs of commodities such as rubber, steel and plastic, combined with increased prices from suppliers, have forced IC Corporation to raise its 2007bus prices. The Warrenville, Ill.-based company estimates that bus prices will increase $2,500 to $3,000 per unit, effective Feb. 1, 2007. This increase is in addition to previously announced increases, which also included the costs associated with meeting 2007 federal emissions standards. A high percentage of the material value of a bus consists of steel and petrochemical products. Since 2003, all commodity prices have increased: steel and oil have doubled, copper has risen 150%, aluminum has increased more than 50% and platinum, which goes into new after-treatment devices, has also gone up significantly. “IC Corporation is making this announcement as early as possible to allow for customers, especially school districts who are already confined to tight budgets, to plan accordingly,” said Michael Cancelliere, vice president and general manager of IC Corporation. “As a company, we’re continuing our attempts to absorb as much of the rising material costs as possible, while at the same time working to improve our manufacturing process and products. All efforts are being taken to minimize passing these cost increases on to our customers.”