Titanium dioxide, DMC, polyether, propylene oxide skyrocket

According to reports, on October 12, the global DMC leader Shandong Shida Shenghua battery-grade DMC price increased again by 200 CNY/ton, quoting 17,000 CNY/ton, the highest point since 2012 (13,500 CNY/ton). Currently, Shi Dashenghua is producing at full capacity 24 hours a day, but the market is still in short supply, and money cannot be bought.

Since August, the domestic DMC factory acceptance price in Shandong has soared from RMB 5,650/ton to RMB 17,000/ton, an increase of RMB 11,350/ton, an increase of over 200%, and a three-year high.

If you have money, you can’t buy the goods. DMC orders will be placed in 5 months.

The substantial increase in domestic DMC prices is directly related to the development of the new energy automobile industry. According to the Coatings Purchasing Network, in September, the production and sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 130,000, which showed substantial growth both month-on-month and year-on-year, reaching 136,000 and 138,000 respectively, representing a month-on-month increase of 28.9% and 26.2%, and a year-on-year increase of 48.0% and 67.7%.

International market: The rapid development of the European new energy automobile industry has caused a rapid increase in the demand for the battery industry. It is understood that the total sales of new energy (600617) vehicles in the 10 mainstream European countries in September was 141,000, a year-on-year increase of 165% and a month-on-month increase of 70%; cumulative sales from January to September were 669,000 vehicles, a cumulative year-on-year increase of 102%; The September sales of Britain and France were 4.1, 3.4, and 18,000 vehicles respectively, up 337%, 166%, 221% year-on-year, and 25%, 303%, and 64% month-on-month.

In addition, the person in charge of Tesla, a leader in the field of new energy vehicles, said at the "Battery Day" event that a new design process was adopted for the battery. Lithium-ion battery manufacturers generally use a "wet method" process to mix and deposit the raw materials on the film to form an anode or cathode sheet. Specifically, the production line mixes powdered materials with water or other solvents, then smears them on the film, and places them in a large oven for drying. This will have a greater demand for solvents, so the demand for DMC has also seen a surge.

The current new energy vehicle industry is in full swing. Not only are auto companies such as Xiaopeng, Weilai, and Tesla striving to enter the field of new energy vehicles, but also leading companies in other industries such as Huawei, Evergrande and Gree are also preparing Enter the new energy automobile industry and put more fire on the new energy automobile industry.

Under the premise that the market prospect is very good, the domestic battery raw material products are in short supply, and the raw material prices are rising wildly. Recently, the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium battery solvent DMC, and the only leading manufacturer in the world that provides a complete set of five electrolyte solvents, solutes and additives at the same time, the relevant person in charge of Shi Dashenghua said that in the near future, he will focus on ensuring the supply of major customers. Execute high-priced large orders, and the orders will be scheduled after the Spring Festival. Among the five solvents, DMC, EMC and EC are the most tense.

It is understood that when new energy vehicles emerged in China, the price of lithium batteries, an important component of them, also experienced skyrocketing. In 2014, lithium carbonate, the main raw material of lithium batteries, was about 42,000-45,000 yuan per ton in 2014. In December of that year, it had risen to 120,000-140,000 CNY/ton, and then continued to rise to 170,000-180,000 CNY/ton, an increase of more than 300% . 2014, 2015, and 2016 were a small peak in the development of new energy vehicles in China. At that time, the price of battery raw materials increased by more than 300%, and the popularity of this round of new energy vehicle industry far exceeded that of the year. Inferred, the price of battery-level DMC still has a lot of room to rise in the future.

It is understood that in addition to DMC, the prices of materials such as propylene oxide and flexible foam polyether have also risen sharply due to the impact of upstream raw material prices, and the prices of some raw materials have reached new highs in decades.

Propylene oxide has risen difficultly, setting a 14-year high.

Previously, Shi Dashenghua said that the price increase of propylene oxide in the upstream led to the price increase of dimethyl carbonate. What is the recent situation of propylene oxide? On October 13, Wanhua Chemical’s propylene oxide (PO) price was 19,100 CNY/ton, an increase of 300 CNY/ton from the previous week, which was the highest value since 2006 (the highest point was 19,000 CNY/ton in June 2008).

This wave of propylene oxide market started to rise in August, controlled by fundamentals and the main supply and demand sides, and continued to rise for 30 days, rising by 5,000 CNY/ton. Up to now, the growth rate of Shandong area is more than 5100 CNY/ton to 18400-18800 CNY/ton.

Soft foam polyether surpassed the 20,000/ton mark, a 12-year high

Benefited from the pull of upstream propylene oxide, the domestic polyether market maintained a straight upward trend in September, surpassing the 20,000 CNY/ton mark in the middle of the month, setting a new high since 2008. The high price of soft foam polyether market in Shandong and North China was 19,500 to 20,500 yuan, an increase of nearly 195% from this year's low point and an increase of 6,000 yuan from the end of August. The average market price in September was 17,370 CNY/ton, a year-on-year increase of 67.10% and a month-on-month increase of 32.89%. At the end of the month, the transaction price in the Shandong market was 19,000-19500 CNY/ton, an increase of 5500-5900 CNY/ton, an increase of 40.74%; East China and South China markets were 19000-19800 CNY/ton, an increase of 5300-5800 CNY/ton, an increase of 39.86% .

Titanium dioxide achieved the largest increase in the year, and some titanium dioxide enterprises rose by 1,000 CNY/ton at a time. After the holiday, a number of titanium dioxide companies sent letters to adjust the increase, the highest increase in domestic trade was 800 CNY/ton, and the increase in foreign trade was about 150 US dollars/ton (equivalent to 1011 CNY/ton). It is reported that it is caused by the tight supply caused by the increase in upstream raw materials and the increase in export volume. The mainstream price of titanium concentrates in Panxi area has risen obviously, and the increase rate is about 100 CNY/ton. Since July, the price of titanium concentrate has risen by more than 20%, and there is a continuing upward trend. In addition, the raw material liquid chlorine in the chlorination method and the upstream raw material sulfuric acid of titanium dioxide in the vulcanization method have shown a certain degree of increase. According to agency statistics, the overall cost of titanium dioxide increased by about 550 CNY/ton.

According to industry sources, the current export volume of titanium dioxide has recovered about 80%, and the increase in export volume will have a certain impact on the supply of domestic products, and the tight supply has also promoted the continuous increase in the price of titanium dioxide.

PC rose by 3,500 CNY/ton

On October 13, the Jiaxing Teijin PL-1250Y Dongguan market quoted at 19,300 CNY/ton, an increase of 3,500 CNY/ton or 22.15% from 15,800 CNY/ton on September 1.

On October 13th, Taiwan’s Chi Mei PC-110 was quoted at 16,200 CNY/ton in the Dongguan market, up 2150 CNY/ton from 14,050 CNY/ton on September 1, or 15.30%.

The peak sales season may continue, and raw materials continue to rise

During the National Day holiday, some terminal customers parked for short periods of time, and road transportation was not smooth. The overall transaction will slow down. However, the traditional peak season of "Golden Nine and Silver Ten" has high prices in downstream industries. The raw material is a kind of pull and benefit. Similar to dimethyl carbonate, such a price spike and insufficient supply may also appear in other raw materials.

Based on the experience of previous years, raw materials and chemicals will see a crazy rise during the "Golden Nine and Silver Ten" period. The special market situation under the epidemic this year has caused severe damage to many chemical companies. Once prices start to rise, they will quickly counterattack, and even set new highs in decades. Industry insiders predict that the peak season for multiple raw materials may last until the middle of next year. And the "vanguard" of the price increase of dimethyl carbonate is likely to not brake at the price of 17,000 CNY/ton, because its spring has just begun. As the core part of new energy vehicles, new energy batteries are in great demand and are consumables, and there are still good prospects in the later period. Judging from the current situation of more than 4 months of ordering, the expansion of production will not solve the problem quickly. Needless to say, more than 10,000 yuan, even if it is more than 100,000 yuan, someone may panic buying. So how far it can rise, let us wait and see.