Chemical and Material Shortage Alerts – March 2014

The purpose of this blog is to identify chemical and material shortages reported on the Internet.  The sources of the information reported here are primarily news releases issued on the Internet.  The issue period of the news releases is March, 2014.

Section I below lists those chemicals and materials that were on previous Chemical and Material Shortage Alerts lists and continue to have news releases indicating they are in short supply. Click here to read the February 2014 Chemical and Material Shortage Alerts list.

Section II lists the new chemicals and materials (not on the February alert).  Also provided is some explanation for the shortage and geographical information.  This blog attempts to list only actual shortage situations – those shortages that are being experienced during the period covered by the news releaseswww.bio.org/wc/cen.   Chemicals and materials identified in news releases as only being in danger of being in short supply status are not listed.

Section I.   Chemicals and materials that continue from February to be reported as in short supply are: construction materials (United Kingdom). 

Section II.   Shortages Reported in March not found on the Previous Month’s List

Iron ore.  India is experiencing shortages of iron ore for use in steel manufacturing; primarily due to government crackdowns on illegal mining operations.

Reasons for Section II shortages can be broadly categorized as: 

1.  Mining not keeping up with demand: none

2.  Production not keeping up with demand: none

3.  Government regulations: iron ore (India)

4.  Sources no longer available: none

5.  Insufficient imports:  none

6.  Supply not keeping up with demand:  none