Chemical Raw Materials Plummeted

Recently, the price of TGIC curing agent, which has continued to decline, has fallen again. The current quotation is around 36-38 yuan/kg. Although some sales platforms are still quoting around 43-45 yuan/kg, the actual transaction price has fallen to the bottom. Companies that previously said they were losing money even by selling 39 yuan/kg have now disappeared and no longer raised their arms, but rather let the flow take its course.

In addition to TGIC, the prices of more than 100 chemical products have continued to decline recently, which is inseparable from the decline in crude oil prices caused by geopolitical conflicts, and is also closely related to external economic changes. Under the severe environment, the prices of many raw materials in the coatings industry chain continued to decline. Despite this, paint companies are still in unanimous opinion that they are in a difficult situation. In order to explore the pressures currently facing paint companies, Paint Purchasing Network has checked the prices of the same period last year for reference.

Raw materials have generally fallen and cut in half, and the pressure on paint companies is still difficult to relieve

Under the circumstance that chemical futures are green and spot stocks continue to fall, the prices of polyester resin, epoxy resin, titanium dioxide and auxiliary products in the upstream of coatings are also following the trend. Compared with the same period last year, the current quotations have fallen rapidly.

In the polyester resin industry chain, the price of isobutyraldehyde, which once set a historical high record last year, is now halved, and the quotation has fallen below 8,000 CNY/ton. Affected by this, the price of neopentyl glycol has fallen by 7,467 CNY/ton, a drop of 40.36%. Under the situation of double raw material decline, the prices of indoor polyester resin and outdoor polyester resin fell by 3,000 CNY/ton and 3,500 CNY/ton respectively year-on-year, a decrease of 21.43% and 20.59%.

In the epoxy resin industry chain, the price of bisphenol A, which has continued to rise in recent years, fell by 13,334 CNY/ton, or 53.12%, and was directly cut in half; the price of another important raw material, epichlorohydrin, fell by 2,284 CNY/ton, or 15.43%. . The price of liquid epoxy resin fell by 8,500 CNY/ton, or 31.48%, and the price of solid epoxy resin fell by 8,300 CNY/ton, or 33.20%. Some major epichlorohydrin factories have stopped production, and epoxy resin factories are mainly cautious, and most of them do not take the initiative to quote.

In the titanium dioxide industry chain, the price of titanium concentrate fell by 6.25%, the price of rutile titanium dioxide fell by 5,100 CNY/ton, a decrease of 22.17%; the price of anatase titanium dioxide fell by 1,000 CNY/ton, a decrease of 5.56%. At present, the demand market is sluggish, and the overall operating rate of the market has declined. The operating rate in Shandong is about 60-70%, and the operating rate in Sichuan is about 50%. The overall operating rate is low. The market still maintains a sluggish downward trend, and some manufacturers have flattened out willfully, which can be said to be operating at a meager profit.

In the solvent industry chain, the price of n-butanol fell by 6400 CNY/ton, a decrease of 45.71%, and the quotations of butyl acetate and ethyl acetate fell by 4685 CNY/ton and 3147 CNY/ton respectively, a decrease of 33.83% and 31.47%. The quotation of ethylene glycol fell by 684 CNY/ton, or 13.15%.

Roughly speaking, the prices of solvents, additives, titanium dioxide, and film-forming substances have basically shown a downward trend, and compared with the same period last year, the decline is generally larger, and the pressure on the cost side seems to be gradually easing. Are your days getting better?

In fact, the cost pressure mentioned by coating companies does not completely refer to the price of raw materials, but also includes labor and miscellaneous expenses, labor costs, logistics and transportation, packaging accessories, equipment maintenance, etc. Many hard expenses cannot be adjusted. For example, while the above raw material companies have cut prices, they have also reduced operating rates and production loads, and are constantly adjusting in the era of low profit in the downturn, so this pressure is also subtly transmitted to coating companies.

Also dig deeper into the upstream situation. The titanium dioxide industry has a strong oligopoly structure, and the pricing power is basically in the hands of several companies, and the price drop will not be too obvious. Solvents and other products are generally dominated by large companies. Wanhua Chemical, Satellite Chemical and other companies often require customers to pay 90%-100% of the advance payment, and the prices of some overseas products have not actually dropped because the supply of goods is relatively high. in short supply. In other words, whether it can be obtained is a problem, and the risks in the capital chain are also continuing to ferment and never stop.