LSB Industries Inc. reported on Dec. 30 that its Cherokee, Ala., and El Dorado, Ark., facilities were shut down as a result of the extremely cold temperatures that impacted much of the US in late December 2022. The El Dorado facility has since returned to service. Repairs are currently underway at Cherokee, and the facility is expected to resume production by mid-January 2023.
LSB estimates that the unplanned outages at the two facilities will collectively reduce fourth-quarter 2022 operating income by approximately $5-$7 million, largely attributable to lost sales and reduced absorption of fixed costs.
At least two other fertilizer producers surveyed by Green Markets said their fertilizer operations had experienced interruptions due to the cold weather in late December; however, they said those plants are now back to normal operations.
Several fertilizer producers reported being offline due to cold weather in February 2021 (GM Feb. 19, 2021), with many citing interruptions in electricity and gas supply. The outages were significant and had a major impact on spring supplies; and US fertilizer prices began to climb.