MIDLAND, Mich. - The Dow Chemical Company has established new transactional service standards for its chemicals customers in the United States and Canada. The new standards, which went into effect on July 1, 2005, apply to products from the company's two chemicals business portfolios - Chemicals & Intermediates and Performance Chemicals & Thermosets.

"The chemical industry as a whole is facing a crisis due to the shrinking of shared transportation resources," said Tim King, vice president of sales for the above businesses in North America. "Dow is taking the lead in addressing this crisis by establishing consistent standards that will enable us to continue to provide valuable transportation-logistics services for our customers."

King noted that a number of factors have contributed to the current transportation-services crisis in the chemical industry, namely a shrinking of shared transportation resources due to an acute shortage of truck drivers, fewer transport carriers and carrier industry consolidation. In addition, the strengthening economy in the United States and Canada has created an increase in volume demand, further depleting the already diminished pool of shared transportation resources.