By Frank Esposito
SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
Published: September 20, 2013 3:27 pm ET
Updated: September 20, 2013 4:06 pm ET
Americas Styrenics has declared force majeure on polystyrene resin after a power outage at its plant in Torrance, Calif.
The Sept. 15 outage was "a total power failure," PS business director Tim Barnette said in a Sept. 17 statement.
"Due to the outage's immediacy and magnitude, we were not able to prevent a complete shutdown of polystyrene production," Barnette explained.
The firm should be back in production at the site within 7-10 days, but shipments are expected to be delayed through mid-October.
"We realize that with current market dynamics and ongoing seasonal demand, this outage comes at a particularly bad time," Barnette said. "We will be in close contact with customers as we work through the issues."
Americas Styrenics — based in The Woodlands, Texas — ranks as one of North America's largest PS makers. The firm is a joint venture between Styron LLC and Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LP. | 
