Methanex: Developing Strategy in a Commodity Industry |

1. INTRODUCTION
Methanex is the world's largest methanol producer. Before the economic crisis that had occurred in 2008, the company was very successful. It has been successful because of its leadership, which cut operating costs to a minimum, along with its reliable delivery. It also has a multi-million-dollar facility in remote, natural gas rich regions in the world and has its own distribution and logistics system.

2. PROBLEMS AND ITS SOURCES
Methanex is facing lower profit margins and having concerns of remaining sustainable in the market due the rising price of natural gas and political instability where its factories are located. The global recession has made regions with Methanex factories, such as Egypt and Chile, extremely unstable. Unlike Methanex's competitors, the company is not well diversified. Methanex is highly reliant on the stability of consumption in the global market for methanol. Although the company's leadership is very strong that has contributed to its success, political and economic instability have resulted in inconsistent gas supplies, thus crippling Methanex's production of methanol. The main source of the problem has been the impact of the global recession. Predominantly, the global recession threatened production facilities in Egypt and Chile. There have been a series of revolutions in Egypt and the surrounding nations, which has resulted in social unrest and political instability. As stated before, political instability plays a significant factor in gas supplies. Egypt, and many of Middle Eastern nations are oil rich, but many face political instability and social unrest. Methanex has built a brand new 870 million dollar facility, however due to the political instability in the region, it will result in problems related to both the production and export of methanol. In