Arlanxeo monitoring Rhine water levels

Maastricht, The Netherlands – Arlanxeo is monitoring all-time-low water levels on the river Rhine in Germany, which have impacted a number of other polymer and chemicals companies including BASF, Covestro and Evonik.

However, in a 28 Nov written statement to ERJ, the synthetic rubber maker said the situation had not ‘significantly impacted’ its operations served by the Rhine.

Arlanxeo has two production sites along the river – in Dormagen and Leverkusen –  but said ‘the Rhine is not key for transportation at for all sites, as logistics are flexible here.’

"We are using the train and truck transportation next to shipping for our plants located at the Rhine river," the company added.

The Rhine is a key transport route for the European chemical industry, with many plants are located on the river. Low water levels reduce the number of chemical barges that can navigate the river, meaning lower production for plants on the river.

BASF announced 26 Nov that it had had to stop producing toluene diisocyanate (TDI) feedstock for the production of polyurethanes, at its Ludwigshafen HQ production site, due to the current situation.

Despite a shift to alternative means of transport such as pipeline, trucks and rail, BASF said not all raw materials can be supplied to its Ludwigshafen site.

“Therefore, BASF will have to stop the TDI production in Ludwigshafen,” the company said.

Covestro AG, likewise, announced 20 Nov that its operations were interrupted.

Indeed, Covestro said it was lowering earnings estimates, in part due the production losses and higher logistics costs due to the problem on the Rhine.

Evonik Industries AG, meanwhile, signaled that the low water levels had impacted certain of its operations in Worms, south of Frankfurt, and Wesseling, near Cologne.