BASF declares force majeure on methyl methacrylate from Ludwigshafen

German chemicals major BASF has declared force majeure on Methyl Methacrylate from its Ludwigshafen site, the company confirmed late Thursday. 

      The force majeure on MMA, a major downstream market for phenol co-product acetone, comes after BASF declared force majeure on other products at its Ludwigshafen site in recent days, including n-Butanol, isobutanol, butyl acrylate and ethyl acrylate because of extremely low water levels on the Rhine causing logistical problems. 
"Our production site in Ludwigshafen is currently encountering significant constraints regarding the raw material supply via barge due to the very low water level of the River Rhine resulting from the unusually long warm and dry weather conditions in Germany," a BASF spokesman told S&P Global Platts earlier. "At the current water level -- a record low -- the Ludwigshafen site can only be reached by a few ships and we have to successively adjust production."