The Urethane Blog
July 23, 2025
Chinese TDI Prices Surge 20% in a Week amid Force Majeure in Europe and Supply Cuts
PUdaily | Updated: July 23, 2025
China’s TDI market has surged in July due to an array of positive news:
– On July 9, Covestro Shanghai raised its TDI guide price to CNY 12,700/tonne in bulk;
– On July 9, Wanhua Chemical stopped taking orders in Southeast Asia due to excessive demand and planned to raise its July TDI price by USD 100/tonne;
– On July 10, Covestro Shanghai announced suspension of TDI trading;
– On July 11, Wanhua Chemical increased its mid-July price for TDI by CNY 1,000/tonne to CNY 13,500/tonne;
– On July 12, a fire broke out at an external transformer station in building L26 at Chempark Dormagen. On July 16, Covestro declared force majeure on TDI;
– On July 14, Covestro Shanghai raised its TDI price to CNY 13,200/tonne;
– On July 14, Covestro Shanghai again halted TDI trading;
– On July 16, Covestro Shanghai further raised the TDI price to CNY 14,200/tonne;
– On July 17, Wanhua Chemical stopped taking orders from distributors for TDI;
– On July 17, BorsodChem increased TDI price by EUR 500/tonne;
– On July 18, Wanhua Chemical raised the July TDI price for direct sales by CNY 4,500/tonne to CNY 18,500/tonne;
– On July 18, Covestro Shanghai raised the TDI price to CNY 17,100/tonne.
Meanwhile, multiple TDI facilities are under maintenance. Wanhua Chemical’s Phase I TDI facility in Fujian has been shut down for maintenance since June 5. This maintenance, expected to span 45 days, has yet to come to an end. Xinjiang Heshan Juli’s TDI facility started maintenance on July 15 and is expected to last 33 days. Gansu Yinguang’s TDI facility is scheduled to undergo maintenance at the end of July for 7-15 days. BorsodChem’s 250 ktpa TDI facility began routine maintenance on July 19, which was scheduled for four weeks.
China’s TDI exports continued to see better-than-expected performance.
China exported 48,000 tonnes of TDI in June 2025, a year-on-year increase of 81.6%. China’s TDI exports from January to June 2025 amounted to 267,000 tonnes, up 82.9% year-on-year. The total annual export volume is expected to exceed 400,000 tonnes, reaching a record high.
Buoyed by multiple bullish factors, traders have mostly halted trading or maintained high prices starting mid-July. As of July 18, TDI prices in China had risen sharply to around CNY 15,000/tonne, up nearly CNY 2,500/tonne month on month, representing a weekly increase of nearly 20%. Some traders even quoted prices as high as CNY 17,000/tonne or above.
Actually, the current TDI price is still at historically low levels and just surpassing the producers’ break-even point. Although TDI prices have seen significant increases recently, there remains some upward momentum due to supply reductions and robust export demand. Moving forward, as some facilities resume production after maintenance, TDI supply will fluctuate and price trends will be impacted. If facilities are restarted as scheduled and production levels return to normal, increased supply may slow the price rise or even lead to a correction. If restarts are delayed or production falls short of expectations, it can lead to further price hikes due to ongoing supply tightness.
Given these unpredictable dynamics, access to accurate, real-time market intelligence has become essential. PUdaily’s Pricing Intelligence Service and dedicated Asia-Pacific TDI reports help industry participants anticipate shifts, benchmark prices, and make better-informed procurement and sales decisions amid the uncertainty.
July 21, 2025
Death by AI
One man’s struggle with his mortality.
Jul 18, 2025
I found out about my death the way everybody finds out everything: from Google.
What happened was, I Googled my name (“Dave Barry”) and what popped up was something called “Google AI Overview.” This is a summary of the search results created by Artificial Intelligence, the revolutionary world-changing computer tool that has made it possible for college students to cheat more efficiently than ever before.
The Google AI Overview for my name consisted of some basic biographical information about me, along with a list of questions under the heading “People also ask.” This was the first question:
As you might imagine I was curious to find out what happened to me, so I clicked on that question. This was the answer:
Give Google AI credit for what it got right: That is, in fact, a picture of me, and I did, in fact, win a Pulitzer Prize (trust me, I’m just as shocked as you are). But to the best of my knowledge, I did not pass away last November 20. That is not just my opinion. In recent months I have been examined by two different licensed physicians, and if I had been dead, I’m pretty sure at least one of them would have mentioned it. (“Dave, your pulse is zero, and your blood pressure is zero over zero. I’m going to try your other arm, but frankly at this point I’m concerned.”)
Fortunately, Google AI Overview has a mechanism whereby if you have an issue with something, you can submit feedback. So I submitted this:
I’ll be honest: When I submitted this feedback, I did not expect much in the way of a response. Google is a huge company with a vast network of computers processing more than a billion trilobites of data every second, which is all the more impressive when we consider the fact that a trilobite is a marine creature that became extinct 250 million years ago, which I think we can all agree is a good thing because it looked like a giant cockroach with way too many legs:
Getty Images
So I didn’t expect that Google, what with all it has on its plate, would have time to respond to my issue about not being dead. But I was wrong. Shortly after I submitted my feedback, the “People also ask” part of my AI Overview was changed. That was the good news. The bad news was, it was changed to this:
Yes. Google AI Overview kept the only statement I objected to — specifically, that I was dead — and removed the accurate statements. It apparently replaced these with information about a completely different Dave Barry, a political activist from Dorchester who died in 2016.
For the record, it sounds as though that Dave Barry was a much better person than I am. He fought for what he believed was right, whereas the only principle I ever have really stood for, over the course of my journalism career, is that Americans should not be required to use low-flow toilets. I’m confident that the late Dave Barry from Dorchester would not have wanted to be mistaken for me.
So I started to write another feedback message to Google AI Overview. While I was doing this, a little box popped up on my screen asking me if I wanted to chat about my issue. So I did that. Here’s a transcript of the chat (I am not making this up):
GOOGLE AI: What can I help with? A brief explanation is all I need.
ME: I’m Dave Barry. The Google AI Overview for me says that I’m dead, and that when I was alive I was a political activist in Dorchester. Neither of these things is true. I am not dead, and I am not a political activist in Dorchester.
GOOGLE AI: Sorry, I didn’t understand your question. Can you try rephrasing it? Short phrases work best.
ME: I’m Dave Barry. I am alive. Google AI says I am dead. I am not dead. Google AI also says I was a political activist in Dorchester. I was not. I still am not.
GOOGLE AI: Apologies, I’m still having trouble understanding you. Let’s give it one more try. Please describe your issue in the text box below.
ME: My issue is that Google AI says I am dead, but I am not.
Google AI responded to that with this:
That’s when I gave up on the chat. It was like trying to communicate with a toaster. Actually, it was worse than that. I bet if I stood in front of a toaster and shouted “I’M NOT DEAD” at it enough times, eventually it would respond “Oh! I get it now! You’re not dead!” Whereas Google AI seemed incapable of grasping this point.
Nevertheless I gave it one last shot. I submitted the following updated feedback to Google AI Overview:
At that point I didn’t have much hope. But as the old saying goes, “Just when you least expect it, the unexpected happens.” And sure enough, the next day the Google AI Overview about me had been changed again:
For the record, the second and third sentences are inaccurate: I’ve had two books1 published since Lessons from Lucy (which was published in 2018, not 2017) and I haven’t written a regular column for the Miami Herald in 20 years, and when I did it was weekly, not monthly. But I didn’t want to get nitpicky just because the answer was still mostly wrong. The important thing was, Google AI had decided that I was no longer dead, and for that I was grateful.
I felt pretty good about this for nearly two days. Then yesterday morning I checked my Google AI overview again to see if anything new had happened to me, and saw this:
So after my miraculous recovery, I was dead again. But guess what? This morning, as I was getting ready to post this essay on Substack, I checked my Google AI Overview one last time, and:
“There seems to be some confusion” states Google AI. Yes! There does! And the source of this confusion appears to be… Google AI!
Anyway, the good news is that, as of right now, according to my Overview, I am once again alive. But I’m not making any long-term plans. I’m not even making lunch plans.
What can we learn from my experience? We can learn that although Artificial Intelligence is an awesomely powerful tool that according to experts is going to completely transform human existence, it is not very bright. So for now we probably should use it only for tasks where facts are not important, such as writing letters of recommendation and formulating government policy. We should NOT let AI handle jobs requiring a high degree of accuracy, such as airplane navigation. (“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re beginning our descent into Honolulu, and we should soon… No, wait, sorry, this appears to be Paris.”)
At least that’s what I think. Now it’s time to find out what you always-helpful paying subscribers think. Today we have two polls:
SUBSCRIBER-ONLY POLL
Do you think Dave is dead?
No.
26%
Yes, at least sometimes.
6%
I’d have to Google it.
34%
He denies it, but he lies a lot.
33%
I honestly don’t care.
2%
855 VOTES · POLL CLOSED
SUBSCRIBER-ONLY POLL
Do you think AI will turn out to be a good thing?
Yes.
3%
Maybe?
12%
We’re doomed.
59%
The trilobite is disgusting.
17%
I’m Scottish, and I am offended.
8%
785 VOTES · POLL CLOSED
Swamp Story (2023) and Class Clown (2025). Both of these books are for sale in exchange for money.
Specialty chemistry supplier Hallstar recently announced leadership succession plans for its global organization. Effective January 1, 2026, John J. Paro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 2002, will step away from his CEO role and focus solely on the leadership of Hallstar’s board and of his family enterprise. On that same date, Carmen B. Masciantonio, a 25-year Hallstar veteran currently serving as Chief Operating Officer and President of the Industrial Solutions division, will assume CEO duties, reporting to Paro and the board of directors.
“Carmen is a capable, trusted and much-admired leader and I am excited about the company’s future growth potential under his leadership,” said Paro. “Of course, this announcement comes after years of reflection and planning with family and board members. Given Hallstar’s strength, its foundational culture and core values, the capabilities and integrity of the entire senior leadership team, and the passionate commitment of our global workforce, I have great confidence that Hallstar and I are ready for this transition.”
Masciantonio came to Hallstar in 2001 with the acquisition of RTD Chemical where he had worked since 1995. Starting as a Business Director for Hallstar Personal Care Ingredients, he added sourcing and purchasing responsibilities over the years and, in 2013, was named Vice President, Supply Chain, and General Manager for all product lines, successfully leveraging the synergy between product management and sourcing.
From 2016 to 2018, Masciantonio was the North America Region Vice President responsible for all P&L operations, sales and sourcing in the NA territory. He was appointed President of the company’s Industrial Solutions division in 2019 and COO in 2022. From 2023 to 2024, Carmen also served as Interim President for Hallstar Beauty & Personal Care.
Masciantonio earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University, where he played on the 1982 National Championship football team and was named Academic All-American in 1984. He and his wife live in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, and have three grown children and one grandchild.
Chief Human Resources Officer and Board Vice Chair, Ashley P. Gertz, remarked on Carmen’s fitness for the leadership role. “We are fortunate to have someone with Carmen’s wide-ranging experience and industry knowledge prepared to succeed John Paro as CEO, but his dedication to Hallstar’s unique corporate culture is equally important. Carmen consistently demonstrates a passion for people and their professional development, and he knows that the greatest employee opportunities and rewards will be the result of Hallstar’s consistent growth.”
July 17, 2025
US Industrial Production Surges In June
by Tyler Durden
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025 – 09:23 AM
US Industrial production rose significantly more than expected in June (+0.3% MoM vs +0.1% MoM exp) with May’s 0.2% MoM decline revised up to unchanged. This left Industrial production up 0.73% YoY…
Source: Bloomberg
Drilling down, we see Manufacturing output also jump in June (+0.1% vs 0.0% exp), lifting the YoY growth to +0.8%…
Source: Bloomberg
Additionally, Capacity Utilization ticked up very modestly but remains in a downtrend…
Source: Bloomberg
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/us-industrial-production-surges-june
July 16, 2025
Covestro Declares Force Majeure at Dormagen Site Following Transformer Fire
PUdaily | Updated: July 16, 2025
Following an electrical fire at an external transformer station on 12 July, Covestro has declared force majeure on its production of caustic soda, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid (HCl) at its Dormagen site in Germany. The plant has an annual capacity of 448,000 tonnes for caustic soda and 480,000 tonnes for chlorine. Covestro noted in a customer statement that the disruption cannot be fully offset by supply from other sites, and significant delays and interruptions should be expected. The duration of the force majeure remains uncertain. PUdaily will continue to monitor the situation and provide timely updates.
This also impacts downstream TDI for now.
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