Equipment Change & Clustered Maintenance TDI Price Increase Exceeds 35%

July 23rd News

According to the commodity analysis system, the domestic TDI market continued to rise in July. As of July 22, the average price of TDI in the East China region was 15,333 CNY/ton, an increase of 30.68% from 11,733 CNY/ton on July 1.

Plant Changes and Concentrated Maintenance Trigger TDI Supply Crisis

Recent operation status of TDI plants both domestically and internationally is as follows:

On July 12, a fire at Covestro's Dormagen plant in Germany caused force majeure in the production of caustic soda, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid. The loss could not be fully compensated by other plants, and the duration is unpredictable. This directly led to a force majeure declaration for the TDI plant with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons. This incident directly drove up the price of TDI in China, as overseas orders surged, Covestro Shanghai stopped quoting, and Wanhua continued to raise its quotes. A major northern manufacturer announced on July 18 that the direct sales channel payment price would be increased by 4500 yuan to 18500 CNY per ton, a single-day price increase of over 30%.

While overseas facilities are experiencing changes, domestic TDI plants are undergoing concentrated maintenance, further exacerbating the TDI supply crisis. Two plants in the northwest region have successively entered maintenance; one has been shut down for 35 days starting from July 16, completely interrupting bulk water supply; the other advanced its maintenance to the end of July, lasting 10-15 days. The 350,000 tons/year TDI plant of Wanhua in Hungary began routine maintenance on July 19, expected to last around 30 days. Recently, the total capacity of affected plants is 1,520,000 tons, accounting for about 40% of global capacity.

The export market exceeded expectations

In May 2025, China's TDI export volume reached 51,600 tons, setting a new record for the highest monthly export volume, surging by 98.45% year-on-year. In June 2025, TDI exports were 48,000 tons, an increase of 81.62% compared to the same period last year. With the continuous growth of domestic TDI production capacity, the reduction in production capacity in Europe and America, and the stimulus of tariff policies, orders in the TDI export market surged. The force majeure event at Covestro in Germany affected 300,000 tons of production capacity, accounting for 55% of Europe's total production capacity, which will further stimulate the growth of TDI export volume.

Market Forecast

So far, the high price of TDI has exceeded 16,000 CNY/ton. After multiple price jumps, some intermediaries have entered a state of suspension and stopped reporting, while others have shown a stronger willingness to sell. End-users are buying out of necessity, but the actual orders at high prices are not very good. Considering that several TDI units are undergoing maintenance simultaneously and some still have planned maintenance, the supply is expected to remain tight. It is expected that the TDI market will continue to rise in the short term, and close attention should be paid to the changes in supply and demand.