ExxonMobil has announced the closure of both their C5 and waterwhite (HHCR) tackifier plants at their site in Baton Rouge, US. These closures take a large portion of an already dwindling tackifier capacity out of the US totals. Chinese producers have ramped up capacities dramatically in recent years, lengthening the market significantly, which has made it increasingly challenging for other producers to remain profitable.
Looking to 2026 and beyond, Synthomer will be the only major C5/HHCR tackifier producer left in the US along with Resinall producing smaller quantities of HHCR. Traditionally, the US is a net exporter of both C5 and HHCR tackifiers, however with these announced closures from ExxonMobil Argus expects the US to flip to a net import position for both products. Argus estimates that there has been an average of 127,000t of C5 production and 74,200t of HHCR production domestically in the US between 2020-2024. ExxonMobil’s units had nameplate capacities of 47kt and 50kt for C5 and HHCR respectively and so consumers will now have to look overseas to fill that gap.
Considering the US’ current tariff position (which admittedly can change on a moment’s notice), US consumers will have a few options for where to look to find their tackifier needs:
- Synthomer/Resinall in the US will be the first choice to avoid any tariffs; however, it will be difficult for either producer to substantially increase production to meet extra demand.
- ExxonMobil’s sister HHCR plant in Singapore would be a like-for-like replacement, with the added benefit that there is only a low tariff on imports currently from Singapore.
- Producers located in low tariff countries including Korea, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan could look redirect some of their product to US markets.
- Should US consumers not be able to source additional volumes from the above (Korea, Thailand etc. mentioned in point 3) countries, they will look towards the Chinese market to source the required volumes.
Currently, overseas suppliers with low import tariffs look to be the most realistic option for US consumers looking to replace ExxonMobil volumes. Should these producers redirect some non-US export volumes towards the US, this will inevitably have the knock-on effect of leaving other regions under-supplied. With China’s ever-increasing capacity, one would expect other regions to fill any gaps in with Chinese produced material. Argus expects Chinese exports to surpass 500,000t by 2026, accounting for 56pc of global exports.
All of this data and more will be available in the upcoming Argus Hydrocarbon Resin analytics, which will include a 10-year supply/demand forecast for the first time this year. Click here to find out more.
Author name: Simon Sheppard, Chemicals Analytics
