Chinese expandable polystyrene producers are cutting production rates this week due to soaring feedstock prices, sources close to Chinese EPS producers said.
Taiwan's Loyal Group on Monday shut down its largest EPS plant in China, the 450,000 mt/year plant at Jiangyin, for two-three days due to the fast rising price of styrene monomer in the east of China.
However, its other plants in China are running at full capacity. Loyal has a total production capacity of over 1.5 million mt/year of EPS in China.
Loyal is not buying SM at the moment, but still has an inventory of EPS to sell, a source close to the company said.
SM hit Yuan 13,050-13,100/mt Monday -- or about $1,734/mt on an import parity basis -- up Yuan 550/mt from Friday. That is the highest price since May 11, 2004, when it was at Yuan 14,550/mt.
Another large EPS producer, China's Xingda Group, lowered its overall operating rates from full to 70% last week, also due to the price increases in SM, a source close to the company said.
The source said some of its plants were shut down, but did not provide further details.
Xingda's plants can make over 1.2 million mt/year of EPS.
