Hurricanes Rita and Katrina forced the shutdown of several chemical facilities in the Gulf region

Huntsman Corporation, a major supplier of ethylene used in the production of upholstery foam, announced today its Port Arthur, Texas facility has returned to production.

Hurricanes Rita and Katrina forced the shutdown of several chemical facilities in the Gulf region. These closures resulted in a severe foam shortage for furniture manufacturers. Many manufacturers curbed production to cope with the shortage.

Huntsman idled the plant on September 22nd in advance of Hurricane Rita's landfall near Port Arthur. The facility sustained no serious structural damage during the storm but did require some repair and its restart was delayed by the lack of electrical power and limited availability of other utilities it receives under contract from a neighboring refinery.

With the successful restart of the Port Arthur facility, all Huntsman primary Gulf Coast plants have resumed production.