BASF, Pilot Chemical Co. and Dow Chemical recently announced price increases for certain chemical products. Pilot Chemicals products are used in metalworking fluids, and BASFs products serve as a building block in synthetic lubricants. Dows products are oxygenated solvents.
Cincinnati-based specialty chemical supplier Pilot announced price increases effective July 15 or as contracts allow on chemicals used in metalworking fluids, including Aristonate and Aristol alkyl aryl sulfonates of 2 to 3 cents per pound, and Aristonic acids of 3 cents per pound. Calimulse emulsion aids will rise 1 to 2.5 cents per pound, and Calamide amides will go up by 2 to 10 cents per pound.
According to Pilot, the increases are a direct result of increased raw materials, energy and transportation costs.
BASF announced on Friday it raised its prices for neopentylgycol by 80 (U.S. $107) per metric ton in Europe, Africa and the Middle East effective immediately or as existing contracts permit. The company said it adjusted prices because of increased operating and logistics costs.
BASF has neopentylglycol production facilities in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Freeport, Texas; and Jilin, China. In response to growing demand in the market for the chemical, BASF is increasing capacity at its Ludwigshafen site by 10,000 metric tons.
Midland, Mich.-based Dow on Friday said it would raise list and off-list prices by 3 to 5 cents per pound on a number of its oxygenated solvents products in North America effective July 1, or as contracts allow. The company attributed the increase primarily to a tight supply of butanol, butanol derivatives and chemical feedstocks, combined with the continued increased cost of raw materials.
Strong supply/demand fundamentals coupled with sustained high raw material costs make this increase a necessity, said Martin Sutcliffe, global business director, glycol ethers. It is further compounded by the industrywide butanol imbalance remaining critical.
This price increase is necessary for us to compete for raw materials and other resources, thereby protecting security of supply, said Dows Carol Miller, global business director, solvents and intermediates. Given the situation, we need to fully implement this price increase.