May is coming soon, and the trend of continuous surge in raw materials continues, with no sign of a drop.
DuPont once again issued a “Supplementary Notice of Force Majeure”
On April 21, DuPont once again issued a “Force Majeure Regarding Crastin PBT Products” Supplementary Notice:
Because one of the key raw materials required to make Crastin PBT polymer – purified terephthalic acid (PTA), a major supplier of INEOS, After force majeure was declared on March 2, 2021, it is currently impossible to determine the future supply time. And North American PTA manufacturers also declared force majeure on April 19, 2021.
DuPont’s German PBT production plant closed on April 15, 2021, and will remain closed until sufficient raw materials are available.
DuPont said that currently, the serious shortage will last until June 2021.
BASF issued three notices in a row, declaring force majeure
On April 21, BASF stated that it received raw material supplies on Monday Due to force majeure notice from the manufacturer, the supply of raw materials such as adiponitrile (ADN), hexamethylenediamine (HMD), and AH-salt will be reduced.
This directly affects the supply of BASF PA66 products (Ultramid® A and Ultramid®C, Capron®PA66).
Therefore, BASF declares force majeure for all PA66-based products, effective immediately. At this stage, the duration of force majeure cannot be predicted.
On April 19, SABIC announced that due to the imbalance between supply and demand, the prices of some products in North America will increase starting from May 17:
LEXAN™ (PC) resin rose by US$0.75/kg (approximately 4873.6 yuan/ton).
CYCOLOY™ (ABS) resin rose by US$0.75/kg (approximately 4873.6 yuan/ton).
XENOY™ (PC/PET) resin increased by US$0.75/kg (approximately 4873.6 yuan/ton).
On April 18, LANXESS issued an announcement:
Resins and base compounds are force majeure, and the production of PBT polymers and auxiliary production lines will be stopped. Deliveries suspended.
On April 20, Badfu Group issued a price increase letter, saying that after a brief consolidation in March, the main raw materials began to rebound in mid-April. In order to ensure product quality, it has been decided after research that starting from April 24, the price of general styrene and acrylic products will be increased by 450-600 yuan/ton; the price of real stone paint will be increased by 400-550 yuan/ton; the price of waterproof/elastic products will be increased by 600-750 yuan. / ton; the price of high-end pure Class C is increased by 400-500 yuan / ton.
According to the reporter, 120 chemical companies have decided to suspend production for maintenance in April, with the maintenance time ranging from 15 days to 3 months. Among them, BASF is located in The 300,000 tons/year TDI unit in Ludwigshafen, Germany, is scheduled to enter the maintenance period from March to April. The maintenance scale is large, the supply interruption period is long, and raw materials cannot be continuously supplied.
Nearly a hundred chemical companies will be shut down for maintenance for up to 95 days.
According to public information, 4 —Petrochemical plants have entered a centralized maintenance period in May, the operating rate will continue to decline, and manufacturers have limited inventories. Due to the epidemic last year, most companies rushed to work overtime in the second half of the year to produce, and some companies postponed equipment maintenance until 2021. Therefore, this year’s equipment shutdown and maintenance situation is even worse than in previous years.
Nearly a hundred chemical companies such as Lihuayi, Fushun Petrochemical, Jilin Petrochemical, Sinopec Mitsubishi, Maoming Petrochemical, Yanshan Petrochemical, etc. are currently in the shutdown period for maintenance or are about to undergo maintenance, involving Dozens of chemical raw materials such as ethylene glycol, epoxy resin, pure benzene, bisphenol A, propylene, etc. The cycle time ranges from 10 to 50 days, and some companies have parking periods as long as 95 days.
At the same time, eight central ecological and environmental protection inspection teams conducted one-term inspections in eight provinces (autonomous regions) including Shanxi, Liaoning, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hunan, Guangxi, and Yunnan. 1 month of inspection work.
Local companies said that due to this, the scope of rare earth production reduction and suspension enterprises has expanded again, and has affected raw ore separation plants. Previously, most of them were waste separation plants, and some plants are currently preparing to suspend operations. .
In some places, in the name of “emergency response”, work and business suspensions were implemented by region and industry. Some regions have publicly announced in the chemical industry group that some chemical companies and industrial manufacturing companies will suspend production, even for about a month.
Nearly a hundred factories have stopped production and supply, and raw material shortages are coming at any time, and the bosses are panicking!
According to public information, petrochemical plants have entered a period of intensive maintenance from April to May, operating rates will continue to decline, and manufacturers have limited inventories. Due to the epidemic last year, most companies rushed to work overtime in the second half of the year to produce, and some companies postponed equipment maintenance until 2021. Therefore, the equipment shutdown and maintenance situation this year is even worse than in previous years. Nearly a hundred chemical companies, including Lihuayi, Fushun Petrochemical, Jilin Petrochemical, Sinopec Mitsubishi, Maoming Petrochemical, Yanshan Petrochemical, etc., have recently been shut down for maintenance or are about to undergo maintenance, involving ethylene glycol, epoxy resin, pure benzene, and bisphenol. A. Dozens of chemical raw materials such as propylene. The cycle time ranges from 10 to 50 days, and some companies have parking periods as long as 95 days.
Ethylene glycol MEG: Lihuayi and Yigao stopped short during the week, Hong Sifang stopped for maintenance, and Inner Mongolia Yankuang dropped to stop. At present, 2 units of Henan Coal Industry, 300,000 tons of Xinjiang Tianye Phase II, 200,000 tons of Hubei Fertilizer, and 1 unit of Yangmei Coal are in long-term parking status.
Pure benzene: Zhenghe Petrochemical 50,000 tons/yearIt said that it has been notified that more than ten small and medium-sized calcium carbonate companies are expected to be restricted by power outages in the next few days. For the manufacturing industry, a power outage is basically equivalent to “stopping production.” Even if you provide your own generator, it is not a long-term solution. As the “Heavy Calcium Capital” in Guangxi, Hezhou has an annual output of 8.5 million tons of heavy calcium carbonate powder, accounting for 35% of the national output. This move may have a greater impact on the output of the domestic calcium carbonate industry. The shortage of products has increased the anxiety of customers. Currently, product orders are full, and orders from major manufacturers have been queued up until around the end of May.
Whether it is a power outage, power rationing, production restriction or production shutdown, some chemical companies have experienced intermittent shutdowns for rectification or production reductions for a period of time, which will directly affect the supply of domestic chemical products. This means that the market stock will be further reduced and inventory will continue to be low.
A variety of products are in short supply, and low inventory drives prices higher
Many people in the industry said, After prices skyrocketed in the first quarter, “out of stock” and “out of stock” have gradually become the main rhythm of industry people. Previously, many people in the industry were hesitant whether to stock up on goods for emergency preparation or wait and see the situation before taking action. However, the current situation obviously does not give everyone a chance to think. Factors such as shutdowns of major chemical plants at home and abroad for maintenance, environmental inspections and special rectifications in the chemical industry have jointly promoted the reduction of output in the chemical industry and the occurrence of low inventories. The operating rate of some chemical sub-sectors has been less than 60%, and the imbalance between supply and demand is serious, and even faces disruptions. cargo crisis. </p
