Texas based Leading commodity and differentiated chemical manufacturer & marketer Huntsman announced that Hurricane Katrina damaged none of its manufacturing facilities and all are up and operating, including its primary North American polyurethanes facility in Geismar, Louisiana. However, the company has seen a dramatic increase in the cost of energy and many of its key feedstocks on a global basis and has also been negatively impacted by restrictions on the availability of certain raw materials as well as logistics and transportation limitations.
Peter R. Huntsman, President and CEO, commented, "They are pleased the storm did not damage manufacturing infrastructure and are grateful that none of employees was injured. However, they are experiencing significantly higher costs for, and limited availability of, some raw materials. Energy costs are also higher, and they must meet the challenges of the damage to the transportation and logistics infrastructure the hurricane left in its wake.
"Additionally, some of customers in the gulf coast region sustained damage to their operations, which is impacting their ability to purchase products. They are working to mitigate as efficiently and quickly as possible the impact of Hurricane Katrina on operations but realize we likely will not know the full effect for some time to come."
Huntsman has sent a letter to customers informing them that the company is increasing prices on products as soon as contracts allow reflecting increasing raw material and energy costs. Where permitted in agreements, the company is also adding fuel and/or transportation surcharges to product pricing.
marketing@alchempro.com
