On 5 March 2026 Huntsman Corporation announced a €200/t natural-gas surcharge on all MDI products supplied to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, citing soaring European natural gas prices. The move follows similar actions from BASF, Wanhua and BorsodChem, which have raised MDI/TDI prices through Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.
Surcharges of this kind are essentially a way to pass through volatile energy costs without renegotiating the underlying contract grid. Huntsman is signalling that European-zone MDI economics cannot absorb the gas-price step-change at the published quote, and that the cost will land directly on the buyer until either the surcharge is rescinded or contract pricing formally resets.
What makes this announcement notable is the alignment across the producer set. BASF, Wanhua and BorsodChem have all moved on MDI / TDI pricing through Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 — through different mechanisms (price increases, surcharges, allocation), but in the same direction. For buyers this removes the option of arbitraging between producers in EMEI on price alone; the conversation shifts to availability, lead time and grade fit.
Downstream, Turkish polyurethane systems producers feel this on landed cost regardless of which European supplier they use. The trade-off is straightforward: hold inventory longer to ride out the volatility, or move faster on indexed pricing with end-customers. Most are doing some mix of both.