Dow Chemical CEO Jim Fitterling said on Thursday that his company expects supply chain bottlenecks to continue slowing down chemical and resin exports until the first quarter of 2022. Fitterling noted that the clogs helped push Dow’s backlog to 30% above normal levels and decreased its inventory-to-sales ratio by around 10% in the third quarter of 2021. He added that the bottlenecks occurred everywhere in the supply chain but were most pronounced in marine and truck transportations.
Dow posted a net income of $1.68 billion in Q3, swinging from a $25 million loss a year earlier. The upswing was primarily attributed to the sharp increase in sales and prices amid robust demand despite supply and logistics constraints. Dow shut a total of 2.5 million tons/year of ethylene capacity and 3.37 million tons/year of polyethylene capacity due to Hurricane Ida in late August. The Plaquemine site operations first, but the Taft complex remained shut until later in September.
