BASF's Ludwigshafen TDI plant restarts production

On November 13, 2020, BASF has restarted the production of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) at its 300,000-ton/year plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, although production has not increased enough to allow the company to cancel the August announcement. The degree of force majeure.

A market person close to the plant said: “BASF is starting the TDI device and is currently in production, but it has not yet reached a high level sufficient to eliminate the force majeure. Considering that the contract price of toluene fell this month, downstream demand is good, and the profit margin is also high. It is very high, so BASF hopes to start operation as soon as possible."

The source said that the company declared force majeure on August 31 after encountering technical problems, and has been trying to restart the factory since then without success until now.

Another source said: "We expect BASF to resume normal production before the end of November. They have now started production, but they have not yet reached the level that can officially lift the force majeure."

The force majeure in Ludwigshafen has exacerbated the tension in the global TDI market. BASF's TDI plant in Ludwigshafen began operations in November 2015. However, due to production and technical problems, the plant has not been able to continue operating at the optimal speed, resulting in delays and shutdowns.

"The force majeure of our Ludwigshafen TDI plant still exists." said a BASF spokesperson.