BASF, Wanhua, Dow All Raise Prices! Chemical Giants Are Back With 100,000 Tons To Compete For The Market

Recently, four major companies—BASF, Huntsman, Wanhua Chemical, and Dow Chemical—have issued price increase notices, with the price adjustments covering the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The maximum increase is up to 350 euros per ton.

Starting from November 20, BASF will increase the price of Lupranate® MDI basic products in South Asia by 200 USD/ton. Wanhua Chemical will raise the price of polymeric and pure MDI by 200 USD/ton in Southeast Asia and South Asia from December 1, and increase the price of all MDI products in Europe by 300 EUR/ton. On December 2, Huntsman announced a price increase of 350 EUR/ton for all MDI products in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East (EAME). On December 3, Dow Chemical announced an increase of 300 EUR/ton for all MDI products in the EMEAI region (Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India). Additionally, a Shanghai factory has set the latest price for polymeric MDI at 15,100 RMB/ton for distribution channels and 15,300 RMB/ton for one-time purchase customers, reflecting an increase of 100 RMB/ton, with limited supply.

The reasons behind this price increase include: the fluctuation and upward trend of international oil prices have driven up the cost of core raw materials for MDI, along with pressures from transportation, energy, and compliance costs. Additionally, in December, 45% of China's production capacity underwent concentrated maintenance (Wanhua Ningbo, BASF Chongqing, Covestro Shanghai), and Huntsman's MDI unit in Rozenburg, Netherlands (with a capacity of 280,000 tons per year) was forced to undergo emergency shutdown maintenance due to a malfunction. Furthermore, BASF's MDI unit in Antwerp, Belgium, with an annual capacity of 650,000 tons, experienced a significant drop in production due to low operational load caused by a shortage of upstream raw material chlorine supply. Lastly, the growth in demand for building insulation materials (driven by energy-saving and emission-reduction policies), the recovery of home appliance exports, and the increasing demand for lightweight materials in new energy vehicles also provide confidence for this round of growth.

After the tight supply of TDI in the first half of the year, another key chemical raw material is experiencing fluctuations. Seizing the opportunity, Wanhua Chemical is accelerating the advancement of the Fujian MDI technological transformation project, which is expected to be put into operation in Q2 2026, adding 700,000 tons of capacity. By then, the total capacity will reach 4.5 million tons per year, with a global market share expected to hit 42%.

Another company, Mitsui Chemicals, has also gradually followed suit.

On December 15, Mitsui Chemicals announced that its affiliate, Kumho Mitsui Chemicals, has decided to further enhance the production capacity of its methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) production facility.

It is noteworthy that Kumho Mitsui Chemicals' new MDI production capacity of 200,000 tons per year was just put into operation last year, raising the total MDI production capacity to 610,000 tons per year. This time, an additional 100,000 tons per year of MDI capacity will be added to reach 710,000 tons. Furthermore, this capacity expansion will fully utilize the recycling equipment introduced during the previous 200,000-ton capacity expansion period, thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions per unit of MDI.

The reasons for increasing MDI production capacity are that global policies and measures promoting the improvement of residential insulation to curb global warming, combined with demand growth driven by economic growth, are expected to lead to a 5% annual increase in MDI demand in the future.

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals is a global leading manufacturer of polyurethane, primarily producing and selling high-performance MDI monomers, modified MDI, and high-viscosity polymeric MDI, which are used in the manufacturing of automotive components, elastic fibers, and high flame-retardant insulation materials. It also produces general-purpose polymeric MDI, used in the production of insulation materials for houses and home appliances. After completing a 200,000-ton capacity expansion in 2024, the plant is now operating at full capacity.

In terms of raw material supply, according to previous reports, on June 16, 2025, Kumho Mitsui Chemicals successfully improved its production process of diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) by adopting the latest generation of e-BiTAC v7 electrolyzer technology from Thyssenkrupp Nucera. Thyssenkrupp Nucera designed and built a chlor-alkali plant with an annual output of 60,000 tons of chlorine for Kumho Mitsui Chemicals' factory located in Yeosu, South Korea. The plant has been successfully put into operation, achieving import substitution. Moreover, the chlor-alkali plant will also recover the by-product brine produced during the MDI production process—these brines are typically discharged as wastewater.