Global crisis due to a shortage of ......... highway paint??

You know the stuff I'm talking about -- the paint for making the yellow and white stripes on the roads. Here's why .......

The Dow Chemical Company has a number of production plants around the USA (and around the world) that all make different varieties of Dow's vast choices of checmicals available to the industrial world. But one Dow plant in particular (I believe in Texas) is no longer making quite as much of a very special chemical that they used to crank out regularly. (Not sure WHY they've cut back. One report said the plant had a fire, another said it shut down permanently, so I can't get the straight deal on that issue at this time). For whatever reason in the slowdown and/or shutdown, THAT one chemical manfacturing plant was responsible for over 60% of the global supply of the chemical called MMA, methyl methacrylate, the stuff that makes paint reflective. So now, those grades of reflective paint known as "highway striping paint" are mighty scarce now.

Meanwhile, since China and India are both building highways out the wazoo, those two nations are only excellerating the depletion of the remaining global stockpiles of highway paints.

So ... there you have it. Another reason why monopolies are a bad thing.

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/34737/

Cost of chemicals used to stripe roadways skyrockets

Published June 10 2010 -- By: Todd Kurtz, WDAY

Fargo, ND (WDAY TV) - Some of the chemicals that go into the paint you see on our roadways are in low supply and demand has gone way up. The chemicals are also used for things like the plastic around computer or TV monitors. China and India are now players in the world market and they've been driving the price up. Now the shortage is hitting right here.

Because of the rain, striping crews have the day off, but even if we have perfect dry conditions everyday from tomorrow to the end of summer, all of the striping projects in North Dakota will not be finished this year.

"It's inevitable, it's going to happen. If we were fortunate to be in Texas or down south where we can stripe all year, it wouldn't be as huge of an impact, but here we've seen snow on Halloween."

Virgil Muscha, the President of Swanston Equipment, a striping company, says there are four chemicals driving this lopsided supply and demand curve.

He says Dow Chemical is the only company in the world that supplies those chemicals and until they get more facilities open the shortage will likely continue. Striping companies have four choices on what to use when making the roads. Paint, epoxy, a plastic spread, and tape.

The problem is each option besides the tape contains the high demand chemicals. It's about 50 times more expensive than paint, and even if cost wasn't an issue, time to lay the material is.

"You are going to do 8 miles of skip in tape where you could do 100 miles in paint." ...


[snip]

Click to expand...

Here are dozens of other news items from around the country all reporting this paint shortage. But the one I am highlighting above gives the WHY of it all.

http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-highway-paint-shortage-virginia-plan-20100612,0,6579036.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-roadpaint,0,5485460.story
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2010/06/11/00711337/index.xml
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/06/vdot-lines-plan-deal-road-paint-shortage
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2010/05/road-paint-supplies-dry-up.html
http://www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=468485
http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/95998694.html
http://www.sj-r.com/firstinprint/x148963530/Road-paint-in-short-supply-IDOT-says
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/95900454.html
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/34099/
http://journalrecord.com/2010/06/10/road-paint-shortage-leads-tronox-to-resurgence-general-news/
http://govpro.com/public_works/highways/traffic-striping-paint-shortage-20100610/
http://www.cfnews13.com/Traffic/OnT...uts_brakes_on_road_construction_projects.html
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/815690--road-paint-chemical-in-short-supply
http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=24503
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/05/27/sk-highway-paint-10527.html
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_684780.html
http://new.khastv.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=21205&storytopic=4
http://www.wqow.com/Global/story.asp?S=12616874
http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/522444.html
http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=143258&catid=57
http://www.wuwm.com/programs/news/view_news.php?articleid=6290
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/...et-paint-shortage-might-slow-Vermont-projects
http://stcloud.injuryboard.com/auto...ithout-lines-on-the-road.aspx?googleid=281742
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100605/LOCAL/306059980/0/FRONTPAGE
http://dcnonl.com/article/id39220
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=123402&catid=2
http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12595838
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12617827


And one CNN report.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/26/news/companies/road_striping/index.htm






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jennontheisland said:

Canned response.



Actually, since it's an organic compound that's readily synthesized and not patented or owned by anyone, this is an opportunity for a business to develop to meet an actual need.

I would also note that the US is not the entire world, which makes this a bit less than a "Global crisis"

Click to expand...

The reports I cited aboce (over 20 news items) have said the shortage is impacting the entire world. The USA is just a tad bit more highway-choked than just about anywhere else, so we're feeling it more intensely than anywher else. But Dow is the leading manufacturer of this one product -- responsible for more than 50% (one report says they manufacture over 60%) of the global supply. China and India are feeling it also in the midst of their own mad rush to build highways.