Lucite lifts force majeure on US MMA on 20 November

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Lucite will lift its force majeure on US methyl methacrylate (MMA) as of early next week, the company said on Friday in a letter to customers.

Originally declared in late January, the force majeure will be lifted on Monday 20 November, Lucite said.

Lucite also is lifting the force majeure on methacrylic acid (MAA), a precursor for MMA. The methacrylates are used most notably to make polymers with trade names such as Lucite and Plexiglas.

The company resolved some plant issues just before Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast on 25 August, which caused a supply interruption at Lucite’s plant in Beaumont, Texas, because of unprecedented flooding there in the aftermath of the storm.

Lucite restarted the Beaumont plant in late September, but on the same date shut down its plant in Memphis, Tennessee for planned maintenance.

The latest Lucite letter cited “excellent production performance” from both units as a reason for lifting the force majeure, as well as an enhanced inventory position.

Lucite said it will continue to maintain extended lead times of 14 days (from order placement to shipping date) for all shipments of MMA and MAA for the next six to eight weeks.