Market news on August 7, 2026: Covestro Germany officially issued a force majeure notice for its polyether polyol series products. Extreme low water levels on the Rhine River impact raw material transportation to the factory, and the supply of related chemical raw materials in Europe faces disruption.
I. Core Trigger for Force Majeure: Rhine River Water Level Drops to a Historic Low
Recently, the water level of the Rhine River has continued to decline, with the water level at the Düsseldorf monitoring station hitting a new historic low. Covestro’s Dormagen plant is constrained by river water levels and has encountered sudden circumstances beyond the company’s control.
The core raw material for polyether polyols, propylene oxide (PO), is restricted by the plant’s supporting technical conditions and can only be transported by ship. Under current Rhine River water level conditions, it is no longer possible to guarantee the stable acquisition of sufficient volumes of shipped PO raw materials for the Dormagen plant, directly limiting raw material supply.
II. Factory Production Impeded, Supply Gap Difficult to Fill in the Short Term
The direct cutoff of raw material supply has led to insufficient capacity utilization for polyether polyols at the Dormagen plant, making it impossible to complete product delivery according to original contracts.
Covestro stated that at this stage, relying on means such as allocation from other group plants and external procurement cannot fully bridge the supply gap caused by this incident. As a result, related products will experience severe delivery delays, production reductions, or even supply interruptions. During the validity period of the force majeure, the company cannot guarantee product supply but will promote feasible alternative supply plans as much as possible.
III. Multiple Product Series Involved, Downstream Polyurethane Industry Chain Under Pressure
The products affected by this force majeure cover multiple mainstream product lines, including Acclaim Polyol, Arcol Polyol, Baydur, Bayfill, Bayfit, Bayflex, Baymer, Baytherm, Desmophen, and other series.
Polyether polyols are a key basic raw material for the polyurethane industry chain. The obstruction of supply from European local facilities may disrupt global polyether polyol trade flows and form an indirect impact on downstream industry chains such as foams and composite materials.
