Global car industry faces ‘severe’ shortage of resin

The global automotive industry faces a “severe” shortage of a resin used to make fuel and brake components that may interrupt production “in the next few weeks,” according to TI Automotive.

“The shortage is real and immediate,” William Kozyra, chairman of TI Automotive wrote in an Apr 12 letter to customers. “The possibility of production interruptions at some of your facilities in the next few weeks is high.”

The Mar 31 blast at a plant of chemical maker Evonik Industries in Marl in Germany’s Ruhr valley is leading to a shortage of a resin called PA-12, Kozyra wrote.

The explosion, which killed two, resulted in a “complete loss” of making Cyclododecatriene (CDT), a key element of PA-12, he said. Global capacity of CDT is “very limited”, the letter states.

The PA-12 resin is used in most fuel and brake-line coatings, flexible hoses and quick connectors supplied to carmakers.