German chemical companies including BASF, Evonik and Celanese, are being forced to suspend production or introduce sales controls as critically low water levels in the Rhine hinder logistics. The situation is so dire that some of Germany’s biggest companies, such as Deutsche Bank (DB), have already stopped shipping products from their plants downstream into Germany. High freight costs have prompted a suspension of orthoxylene orders, whiles spot prices on methanol, orthoxylene and butyl acetate were all affected. Chemical production has been curtailed or halted at companies which rely on the river Rhine to transport feedstocks or sales to customers. Water levels have reached record low levels in Kaub and are expected to continue dropping.
German chemical companies including BASF, Evonik and Celanese, are being forced to suspend production or introduce sales controls as critically low water levels in the Rhine hinder logistics. The situation is so dire that some of Germany’s biggest companies, such as Deutsche Bank (DB), have already stopped shipping products from their plants downstream into Germany. High freight costs have prompted a suspension of orthoxylene orders, whiles spot prices on methanol, orthoxylene and butyl acetate were all affected. Water levels have reached record low levels in Kaub and are expected to continue dropping.