Malaysian TEA Prices Rise 0.7% Amid Supply Constraints While US Prices Remain Unchanged

During the week of September 4, 2026, the global Triethanolamine (TEA) market demonstrated a striking contrast between North America and Southeast Asia. While United States spot prices held steady despite notable relief in key upstream raw material costs, Malaysian TEA market offers recorded a subtle 0.7% price increase due to regional supply limitations triggered by localized asset turnarounds.

In the United States, chemical refiners experienced significant relief on operating expenses. Upstream feedstock ammonia prices tumbled by 11.8% over the week, complemented by a 1.4% price reduction in ethylene oxide (EO). Historically, such a dramatic shift in basic raw material inputs—where Ethylene oxide accounts for a dominant share of TEA production overheads—exerts heavy downward pressure on spot quotes. However, domestic TEA prices remained entirely stable during the week.

This pricing resilience in North America was sustained by balanced supply and demand dynamics. Industrial demand from personal care formulators, surfactant producers, and building material manufacturers—where TEA serves as a vital concrete grinding aid—remained healthy and consistent. Domestic producers opted to retain existing margins rather than pass on raw material savings, utilizing disciplined run rates to prevent inventory accumulation. Additionally, steady export commitments to Latin American markets helped absorb available production, maintaining equilibrium across US distribution networks.

In contrast, the Southeast Asian TEA market encountered tightening availability. In Malaysia, TEA spot prices gained 0.7% during the same week. The key driver behind this price shift was a scheduled maintenance shutdown at Petronas Chemicals’ facility in Kerteh. The outage, which commenced on July 1, 2026, and is scheduled to conclude on September 15, 2026, temporarily reduced active capacity to 625 TPM out of a total monthly capacity of 1,250 TPM.

This 77-day turnaround constrained regional spot supply, prompting local traders and blenders to adjust export quotes slightly upward. Downstream consumer industries in Asia-Pacific—including home care additives and agrochemical formulators—maintained steady procurement to safeguard against short-term logistics delays, reinforcing the regional price increase.

Looking ahead, the conclusion of the Petronas Chemicals Kerteh maintenance on September 15 is anticipated to gradually restore Malaysian supply availability, which may moderate the upward pricing bias for TEA in the near term as regional supply tightness eases. In the US TEA market, any near-term price movement will be shaped by the trajectory of ethylene oxide and ammonia feedstock costs and the pace of downstream personal care and construction chemical procurement recovery as the autumn demand season accelerates.