Xingda Group, one of China's largest producers of expandable polystyrene, has lowered its total production rate from 75% to 50% of capacity in late November due to weak demand, a source close to the company said Monday.
Xingda has a total production capacity of 1.11 million mt/year among four plants in China. Its Wuxi plant has a capacity of 450,000 mt/year, Changzhou 360,000 mt/year, Xinjiang 120,000 mt/year and Huizhou 180,000 mt/year.
The company averaged a run rate of 80% in October among the four plants, but that was reduced to 75% in November. The rate has now been further reduced to 50%, and is likely to be kept at 40-50% over December and January, the source added.
EPS is made from styrene monomer, and a sharp cut in EPS production is likely to impact spot prices of SM, market sources said. CFR China SM prices have fallen by 2.7% or $35/mt since the start of November to $1,279/mt last Friday.
