Paint & Coating News

Aekyung Chemical announced on March 19, 2026, that it will halt operations at its Chinese subsidiary, Aekyung (Ningbo) Chemical Co., Ltd., by August 31, 2026, and proceed with its sale. The buyer has not yet been disclosed.

• Aekyung chemical

The closure of Hormuz is turning a shipping crisis into a direct threat for seafood logistics and pricing.

LANXESS’s 20% global hike in 1,6-hexanediol shows energy and raw material inflation is now being formally passed downstream.

BASF has recently announced that it is raising prices for butyl acrylate (BA) and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA) in the Asia-Pacific region by up to US$100 per metric ton, effective immediately or as existing contracts allow.

BorsodChem’s €500/ton MDI increase shows Middle East-driven energy and raw material pressure is now moving fully into Europe’s polyurethane upstream market.

India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a final affirmative anti-dumping ruling on 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (TDQ) originating in or imported from China.

BASF’s new biomass-balance polyols show how sustainability is becoming a practical industrial upgrade.

WACKER posted a €805 million net loss in 2025, while its PACE savings plan is now central to any recovery in 2026.

On March 19 (local time), Qatar—one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG)—was struck by missile attacks, causing severe damage to multiple facilities in its core energy hub, Ras Laffan Industrial City.

• Qatar
• LNG

In mid-March 2026, major news emerged from Yulong Island in Yantai, Shandong: the 100,000 tpa methyl methacrylate (MMA) unit has successfully started up in one go and produced on-spec products.

• Yulong Petrochemical

Wanhua’s 2025 revenue topped RMB 200 billion, while profit stayed under pressure. The market is now watching whether 2026 price gains can turn into lasting earnings recovery.

Middle East supply shocks and surging oil have driven broad chemical inflation, with over 100 raw materials rising sharply.

Advent will not buy LANXESS’s 40.94% stake in Envalior in 2026, delaying the roughly €1.2 billion transaction. LANXESS says liquidity and debt repayment remain secure despite the postponement.

Redwall New Materials Co Ltd’s 50%–80% surge and Songwon’s 12%–20% global hike show chemical firms are no longer absorbing costs themselves.

Disruptions in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are reshaping the global fertilizer market. As the world’s largest urea importer, India is grappling with a fertilizer production crisis triggered by a shortage of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

• Urea
• India

Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical recently announced that its U.S. subsidiary Shintech will invest $3.4 billionat its Plaquemine site in Louisiana to build a new ethylene cracker along with supporting chlor-alkali and VCM (vinyl chloride monomer) facilities.

• Shin-Etsu Chemical
• Shintech

Lilly is investing US$3 billion in China while using safety warnings to squeeze gray-market tirzepatide substitutes.

Entering March 2026, driven by surging energy prices caused by geopolitical turbulence and the continued rise in the costs of major raw materials such as natural rubber and synthetic rubber, the global rubber and downstream tire industry chain has ... ...

• LANXESS
• Rubber
• Tire

Evonik kept its 2026 EBITDA guidance unchanged while openly acknowledging that global chemical demand is unlikely to recover in the short term. What supports its outlook is not market recovery, but structural optimization, cost discipline, and stronger op

Early-March price hikes in TiO₂, acrylic emulsions, coatings and waterproofing show cost pressure is cascading fast.