BASF cuts back ethylene production
German giant cites continuing slump in plastics demand
By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 3/25/2009 2:24:00 PM
Plastics giant BASF said this week it will temporary shutdown one of its steam crackers in Germany, taking an annual capacity of 220,000 metric tons of ethylene offline for at least three months, due to weak demand.
The ethylene production shutdown could last longer, as Albert Heuser, president of BASF’s Petrochemicals division said the company does not expect any ethylene demand improvement in the foreseeable future. “We are therefore tailoring production to reflect demand and to reduce costs,” Heuser said.
However, there are some signs that demand for plastic resins may be on the uptick at least in the U.S. Purchasingdata.com’s plastic resins buying plans index increased in March to 37.1 from 28.8 in February indicating more buyers were preparing to order resins. The index shows orders are still a long way from growth (50) but the demand slide may have hit bottom.
Some market watchers are expecting the $787 billion stimulus package to improve orders in the chemicals and plastics markets. As reported last month on Purchasing.com, the American Chemistry Council has broken down where some of that funding could boost chemicals and plastics.
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