Annual review of the price trend of titanium dioxide

Titanium dioxide industry is the third largest inorganic chemical product after synthetic ammonia and phosphorous chemicals. It is widely used in coatings, plastics, papermaking, inks and other fields. It is a barometer of national economic development. Among them, coatings are the most important downstream industry, accounting for More than 50% of the application of titanium dioxide.

In 2020, the titanium dioxide industry has withstood severe tests. Since the beginning of the year, due to the outbreak of domestic and foreign epidemics, domestic and foreign demand has decreased, and the titanium dioxide industry has experienced a short-term cold. However, since the second half of the year, the domestic market demand has recovered, and the spot price of titanium dioxide has risen repeatedly.

The price of titanium dioxide fell sharply in the first half of the year

In 2019, the global total production capacity of titanium dioxide was approximately 8.685 million tons/year, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%. The main increase in titanium dioxide production capacity in 2019 is in China, and China's increase in titanium dioxide production capacity accounts for 81% of the global total capacity increase. With the further expansion of production capacity, the overall price of titanium dioxide in 2019 will remain volatile and weak.

In the first half of 2020, the price of titanium dioxide products continued the downward trend since the end of the previous year, and the market also entered the cold winter simultaneously. Since the beginning of the year, product prices have continued to fall.

From late March to the end of June, titanium dioxide entered a weak price reduction cycle. The vertical declines of sulfuric acid Rutile type and anatase type reached 3,000 CNY/ton and 2,000 CNY/ton, which reached 19.87% and 17.39%. Taking sulfuric acid Rutile Titanium Dioxide as an example, the price has been reduced by 3,000 CNY/ton in just three months, falling to the lowest level in the past two years. The rate of decline and rate of decline are rare in the past.

In June, the national market price of titanium dioxide fell as a whole, and the price changes during the month showed a trend of falling first and then stabilizing. The market price adjustment at the beginning of the month continued until mid-June, and the market price continued to stabilize at the end of the quarter. As of the close at the end of June, the average market price of rutile titanium dioxide across the country was 12,600 CNY/ton, a decrease of about 6.02%. The mainstream negotiated price range in the market was 12000-13000 CNY/ton. Many small companies’ titanium dioxide prices were as low as 12,000 CNY/ton. Below the break-even line. In June, the average price of Anatase titanium dioxide in the national market negotiations dropped overall. The price changes during the month showed a trend of first falling and then stabilizing. The average closing price at the end of the month was 10558.33 CNY/ton, a decrease of 7.80%; the mainstream range of national market discussions was 10,000-10800 /Ton.

Multiple rounds of price increases for titanium dioxide in the second half of the year

Since June 28, there have been many price increases in the titanium dioxide industry, and many companies have followed suit and responded, achieving a rare concerted action across the industry. At the same time, the downstream market has greatly improved with the positive changes in the economic situation, and the industry has shown its most prosperous market so far this year. All companies are booming in production and sales, and their profitability is rising.

As time enters December, due to the surge in upstream raw materials and the surge in overseas demand, the price increase of titanium dioxide shows no signs of stopping. According to data monitoring by Zhuo Chuang Information, on December 9th, many domestic titanium dioxide companies announced a price increase of 700 CNY/ton. As of December 16, the relevant industry data of the business agency showed that the domestic rutile titanium dioxide transaction price was about 16,600 CNY/ton, which has increased by 5,000 CNY/ton from the lowest price in the year.

According to Zhuo Chuang Information, a large part of the continued increase in titanium dioxide comes from the support of the cost side such as the price of titanium concentrate, and another increase in titanium dioxide may stimulate the upstream titanium concentrate to increase its price again in order to chase downstream profits. Downstream, the value transmission of titanium concentrate and titanium dioxide is two-way, and the characteristics of the domestic market determine that titanium concentrate has a stronger voice in pricing. According to industry analysts, the industry will remain optimistic in 2021, and prices will remain firm at least in the first half of the year.