Dow Puts Propylene Glycol on Sales Control

28 October 2002 00:00  [Source: ICB Americas]

Unruly weather and a planned maintenance turnaround have crimped Dow Chemical Company's supply of propylene glycol (PG) and forced the company to place all grades of PG, dipropylene glycol (DPG) and tripropylene glycol on order control in North America until further notice.

Production at both of Dow's Gulf Coast facilities-Freeport, Tex., and Plaquemine, La.-was disrupted earlier this month because of two hurricanes that rocked the Gulf Coast area. The disruption at Freeport occurred immediately prior to a planned maintenance shutdown at Dow's 1.5 billion pound propylene oxide (PO) facility, which limited the amount of raw material available for PG production. The shutdown of the Freeport PO facility is slated to last through October.

"Unfortunately, the combination of the tropical storms and the planned maintenance shutdown did not allow Dow to build the necessary inventories to support our scheduled shutdown," says Dave Pashalidis, global business director for Dow's propylene oxide/ propylene glycol business.

Dow recently announced a 3 cent price increase for all grades of DPG because of limited availability and strong demand. The market for DPG has become snug in North America because demand is outpacing demand for PG, which is produced at roughly ten times its volume.

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly