Chemours executives: China and Europe demand leads titanium dioxide market recovery

Recently, Ed Sparks, President of Chemours Titanium Technology Division, said that the rebound in demand in China and Europe will lead to a recovery in demand for titanium dioxide in 2023.

Sparks said that in the last few months of 2022, downstream enterprises of titanium dioxide have begun to destock. Chemours expects that the downstream destocking of titanium dioxide will continue until the end of the first quarter of this year, and market demand should gradually recover in the rest of this year.

Compared with 4 months ago, the sentiment in the European market is becoming more optimistic. Sparks said: "What will drive the improvement of the titanium dioxide market in 2023 will be the normalization of European demand." He also pointed out: "In Asia, the reopening of China will not only provide a boost to the improvement of the titanium dioxide market, but also provide global The overall driving force of the economy. I am very optimistic about China's economic recovery and have seen signs of a rebound in demand for titanium dioxide, especially through its distributor partners." Sparks said that in China, Chemours' titanium dioxide Used in industrial coatings and architectural coatings. The value chain for industrial coatings is longer, so recovery in this end market should be evident later in the year.

Regarding the North American market, Sparks said: "The demand persistence in the North American market is better than in other parts of the world. This is completely different from what we have seen in Europe and China, where the market demand has dropped significantly last year. The North American market Demand for titanium dioxide used in specialty coatings remains strong, but demand in the plastics market has indeed slowed down."

Mortgage rates for 30-year home loans in the U.S. have fallen from more than 7 percent in November, according to Freddie Mac. Existing home sales, which have been linked to 80% of architectural coatings sales after rising mortgage rates led to a drop in existing home sales. It is not clear whether this decline in interest rates will translate into increased demand for titanium dioxide. The titanium dioxide market is stabilizing due to a lack of supply of homes for sale in the U.S. market, Sparks said. The U.S. supply of existing homes stood at 2.9 months in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. The market is in equilibrium when the market has a 6-month supply.