Recently, affected by multiple factors such as "dual control", power rationing, soaring gas prices, and poor sales of ceramic tiles, a large number of ceramic tile production lines have come to a standstill. However, even so, the prices of ceramic raw materials and fuel have not decreased due to demand in the ceramic industry. The decline has instead started a new round of "runaway" mode.
According to "Ceramic Information", the prices of coal, natural gas and other fuels have recently hit a new high this year; the prices of various chemical raw materials such as caustic soda and sodium tripolyphosphate have once again "taken off" due to production cuts, with prices "one per day" "price"... At the same time, according to CCTV Financial Report, since August, the price of corrugated paper has been raised four times in less than 20 days, pushing up the purchase cost of cartons for ceramic companies.
“Price increases twice a day”
The prices of many types of ceramic raw materials have "skyrocketed" again
On September 18, PYX, the world's leading zircon sand manufacturer, announced that high-quality zircon sand will be raised by US$555/ton to US$2,350/ton, a single increase of up to 30%. Previously, PYX had continuously The price of zircon sand has been raised three times, and the previous three times have raised the price by a cumulative US$355/ton, which means that this company alone has raised zircon sand by more than 63% this year.
Affected by the rapid rise of zircon sand, zirconium silicate, the most widely used zirconium product in the ceramic industry, is also rising. The price of 64.5% zirconium silicate has risen from 12,250 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year to 21,250 yuan/ton, an increase of more than 70 %.
Caustic soda has also set off a new round of rising tide recently. "It's not that prices are high now, but that there are no goods." The person in charge of a chemical raw material supplier in Foshan revealed. It is understood that as of mid-September, the average domestic price of 99% caustic soda has reached 3,549 yuan/ton, while this price was only 1,936 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year, an increase of an astonishing 83%.
In contrast, sodium tripolyphosphate in ceramic additives has become a blockbuster in the past month, shocking all suppliers and ceramic factories.
"Sodium tripolyphosphate increased by 800 yuan/ton yesterday, and today the manufacturer notified that it will increase by 200 yuan/ton." On September 17, the person in charge of a Foshan ceramic additive company told "Ceramic Information" that since the beginning of the year, various Amidst the rising noise of raw materials, the price has always been stable at around 5,000 yuan/ton. However, starting from late August, it suddenly started to skyrocket, and the price hit new highs one after another. The latest quotation has reached as high as 8,600 yuan/ton.Above, some manufacturers have even quoted prices exceeding RMB 10,000, which means that in less than a month, sodium tripolyphosphate has increased by as much as 70% to 100%.
"Now the price is one per day, and the price may rise twice a day. In the past, there was a 20% to 30% profit, but this year it is less than 10%, and there is still a huge risk of losing money. Now having the goods is the biggest support , it takes 20 days to place an order, and if the customer doesn’t accept the price increase, we have no choice but to give up.”
In addition, chemical raw materials such as titanium dioxide, calcined alumina, and calcined zinc oxide also increased to varying degrees. However, raw materials such as strontium carbonate, barium carbonate, and cobalt oxide that had experienced excessive growth at the beginning of the year have fallen slightly.
4.8 yuan/m³! Gas prices hit a new high for the same period
1,700 yuan/ton! Coal prices hit historical record
Since the beginning of this year, the prices of coal and natural gas, which are fuels that account for a relatively large share of the production cost in the ceramic industry, have been running wild and never stopped.
According to gas online data, on September 21, the listing price of major LNG receiving stations in Guangdong and Guangxi has reached 6,200 to 6,280 yuan/ton, which is a converted gas price of 4.5 to 4.7 yuan/m³. In March this year, the listing price The price is only over 4,000 yuan/ton, with an increase of more than 50% in half a year.
"The current listed price is the actual price, and it looks like it will continue to rise. The delivery price to the factory is only 4.5 yuan/m³, which is a loss." A person in charge of an energy company said helplessly.
However, it is understood that the gas price of some ceramic factories in Guangdong reached 4.8 yuan/m³ in September.
Coal has also been on the rise. This year it has fully demonstrated the super power of "coal is crazy", with prices far exceeding the 2016 high.
It is reported that in mid-September, the quotation of 5,500 kcal thermal coal at the Northern Port Terminal has reached as high as 1,450 yuan/ton, and the price may not necessarily be available. The coal price quotation in Yulin, Shaanxi has created a historical high of over 1,500 yuan/ton, and this is the case. According to calculations, the factory price in the south is generally more than 1,600 yuan/ton, and the factory price of some ceramic factories even exceeds 1,700 yuan/ton. Compared with the same period in previous years, the price has doubled.
4 price increases in 20 days!
Corrugated paper rose from 3,680 yuan to 4,000 yuan per ton
According to CCTV's "TrueThe "Dian Finance" column reported on September 22 that since August this year, the price of corrugated paper produced by a paper company in Shandong has been raised four times in less than 20 days. The ex-factory price per ton has risen directly from 3,680 yuan to nearly 4,000 yuan. Corrugated paper, also known as kraft paper and paper skin, is a common material used in daily paper packaging boxes. It is a necessity in the packaging process of all walks of life, and the ceramic industry is no exception.
One of the main factors causing the increase in corrugated paper prices is the increase in the price of domestic waste paper raw materials, and the incentive is the implementation of a comprehensive ban on the import of solid waste. Starting from January 1 this year, paper companies’ waste paper import quotas Already cleared, domestic waste paper is becoming increasingly tense.
Li Zonghui, assistant general manager of a papermaking company in Shandong Province, said that previously, approximately 15 million tons to more than 20 million tons of foreign waste paper entered the country every year. With the ban on the import of waste paper, the import gap of tens of millions of tons is very huge, which has caused a sudden and rapid increase in domestic waste paper demand.
According to statistics, the current national average price of China's AA-grade corrugated paper is about 3,870 yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 15%. In this regard, paper companies told CCTV reporters: "Life is not easy." Since August, paper companies across the country have issued price increase letters intensively. On the one hand, they hope to alleviate cost pressures through price increases, and on the other hand, they are tentatively issuing price increases before the peak season. Raise prices.
Liu Hui, a professional analyst at Zhuochuang Information, told CCTV reporters: "The fourth quarter is still the peak consumption season in the traditional sense. In addition, the supply of domestic waste yellow cardboard continues to be tight this year. It is expected that the price of corrugated boxboard paper in the fourth quarter will be The main tone is upward within a narrow range.”
Upstream companies are having a hard time, and the downstream ceramic tile industry is also facing huge challenges from rising prices in all links. About 60% of the increase in base paper costs this year has been passed on to downstream companies. Ying Wenjun, general manager of a paper product packaging company in Shandong, said: "The cost of corrugated paper has increased by 15%, of which about 9% to 10% are absorbed by customers." The rise in production costs has once again squeezed the company's profit margins .
Raw materials and fuels are rising
Why does the wave never stop and get louder every time?
If the price rise of various raw materials at the beginning of the year was only due to the shortage of supply, such as zircon sand due to the suspension of production by Rio Tinto, the largest zirconium mine in South Africa, then the new round of rising prices is affected by multiple factors, among which energy consumption "Dual control" is the main reason.
Under the policy of “dual control” and “power rationing” of domestic energy consumption,Large-scale production reduction is the main reason. The chemical industry is classified as a "two high" project and is subject to stricter supervision than ceramic tile production. For example, sodium tripolyphosphate is not only affected by production restrictions. Its main raw material, yellow phosphorus, mainly relies on imports and domestic Yunnan and Guizhou. From September to December, Yunnan yellow phosphorus production companies were required to reduce production by 90%, causing many manufacturers to directly stop production, causing Raw materials are in high shortage.
The "dual control" of energy consumption in East China, the main producing area of caustic soda and soda ash, is also strictly controlled, leading to resource constraints and even the phenomenon that most manufacturers stopped taking orders.
Coal, the production capacity of major domestic producing areas such as Yulin and Ordos has been significantly reduced this year. Now it is experiencing peak electricity consumption in summer, and the contradiction between supply and demand is acute.
Natural gas is "not weak in the off-season" and has reached a record high. Under the influence of the international situation, this has become a global pain point. China's natural gas dependence on foreign countries exceeds 40%, and the eastern coast mainly relies on imports, which is particularly severely affected.
(Article reproduced from Ceramic Information)
