SIOUX CITY, Iowa, June 7 /PRNewswire/ --
Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRA) announced today it will suspend ammonia
and urea production at its Blytheville, Ark., facility on June 10 and will
prepare the plants for shutdown. The facility will resume production when
ammonia and urea selling prices increase and/or natural gas costs decrease to
the point where the facility can operate with positive cash flow. The
Blytheville facility's ammonia and urea manufacturing capacity represent
14 and 73 percent, respectively, of Terra's total North American ammonia and
urea manufacturing capacity. Terra will continue to operate its Blytheville
ammonia and urea storage and shipping facilities.
Terra has notified 71 employees, or about 75 percent of its Blytheville
workforce, that they will be laid off for an indefinite period currently
expected to last three to six months, depending on market conditions.
Michael L. Bennett, Terra's President and CEO, commented, "It is
disappointing to have to shut down the Blytheville facility, and we very much
regret that our employees must endure a layoff. Record urea imports have
created a supply that exceeded this year's demand, which has been hampered by
adverse weather, low grain prices and early concerns about product
availability. It may take three months or longer for industry-wide urea
inventories to return to normal levels.
"While this quarter's nitrogen markets have been weaker than expected, we
are encouraged by the recent North American natural gas price decrease,"
Bennett continued. "This, combined with Terra's well-positioned facilities,
our UAN advantage and the positive cash flow our U.K. and methanol operations
are currently generating, make us confident that we will weather current
market conditions."
Terra Industries Inc., with 2000 revenues of $1 billion, is a leading
international producer of nitrogen products and methanol.
Information contained in this release, other than historical information,
may be considered forward-looking. Forward-looking information reflects
management's current views of future events and financial performance that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the
following: changes in financial markets, general economic conditions within
the agricultural industry, competitive factors and price changes (principally
selling prices of nitrogen and methanol products and natural gas costs),
changes in product mix, changes in the seasonality of demand patterns, changes
in weather conditions, changes in governmental regulations and other risks
described in the "Factors That Affect Operating Results" section of Terra's
current annual report.
Note: Terra Industries' news announcements are also available on its web
site, http://www.terraindustries.com , and by fax at no charge to persons
calling 800-758-5804, code 437906.
SOURCE Terra Industries Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.terraindustries.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/437906.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 437906
CONTACT:
Mark Rosenbury of Terra Industries Inc.,
712-279-8756
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