Soaring naphtha price spells production curtailment in Japan

26-Jul-08

While the swell in naphtha prices is trespassing all the expectations, the chemical producers in Japan including Mitsui Chemicals and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. are taking rigid steps of curtailing their output to stabilize profitability. These petrochem makers are unable to forward the rising material cost to their product prices. Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., nation's top chemical maker has deferred the commencement of operations at its new 60,000 tpa polycarbonate resin plant based in Kitakyushu, from this month to November. In the meantime, Mitsui Chemicals has shunned the production lines at one its three high purity terephthalic acid plant in Waki, Yamaguchi Prefecture while halting operations at one of the remaining two lines. Thus, the plant's output for high purity terephthalic acid has slipped 50% to 400,000 tpa.