“In this issue, apart from paying attention to the imports, exports, price, and upstream & downstream products of TiO2 as usual, CCM also reviewed and analyzed the export market of TiO2 and the domestic coating market in China in H1 2015. Specifically, the influence of the devaluation of Renminbi to the China’s export market of TiO2 was also analyzed.
First of all, in June 2015, China’s export volume of TiO2 slumped significantly. June is the slack season for sales of TiO2 in China’s domestic market, making domestic manufacturers had to turn to the foreign market. However, demand from the foreign market was also depressed. In addition, the international TiO2 price kept decreasing, resulting in the weakening of competitive advantages of China’s TiO2 products. Meanwhile, in the same month, China’s depressed import market of titanium ore began to recover and the average import price was quite stable. Under such circumstances, China’s import volume of titanium placer and feedstock climbed up significantly. Import volume of titanium placer and feedstock from India realized a MoM increase of up to 136.22%, becoming the main reason for the increase of China’s total import volume in June.
Secondly, CCM made a conclusion on China’s export market of TiO2 and analyzed the influence of the devaluation of Renminbi to the export market. CCM believed that the devaluation of Renminbi can provide bigger profit margins for Chinese TiO2 manufacturers, but it cannot its market competitive power. In addition, CCM comprehensively analyzed the growth speed of coating output and attributed its slowing down growth speed to the decreasing demand from downstream markets such as the real estate market and the automobile market. In H1 2015, China’s market for titanium sponge began to recover but CCM thought that it would dropped to the bottom again in H2 2015 in consideration of the unbalanced supply and demand relationship.
Thirdly, CCM also paid attention to company dynamics. On 5 Aug., 2015, CNNC TD released an announcement, disclosing that its TiO2 industry integration project declared on 7 July, 2015 was stopped; on 20 Aug., 2015, Chemours announced to launch its five point transformation plan. It will eliminate roughly 150,000 t/a of TiO2 capacity in the US; on 24 Aug., 2015, Henan Billions released its 2015 semi-annual financial report, showing that it produced 108,200 tonnes of TiO2 and sold 107,800 tonnes in H1 2015. It is worth noting that on 12 Aug., 2015, Warehouse explosions in Tianjin have caused extensive destruction in and around the warehouse compound. Regarding the TiO2 industry, its influence is mainly reflected in cost of storage and logistics and the direct impact is very limited.”
“In June 2015, sales of TiO2 in China entered its slack season. Exports & imports of TiO2 both dropped month on month in June 2015. Regarding price, it was stable basically.
In June 2015, China’s depressed import market of titanium ore began to recover and the average import price was quite stable. Under such circumstances, China’s import volume of titanium placer and feedstock climbed up significantly. On the other hand, China’s output of titanium concentrate ore remains dropping, especially in Sichuan Province.
In Aug. 2015, influenced by weak market, TiO2 price continued to plunge in China. The TiO2 industry was in the doldrums. Besides, impacted by TiO2 market, prices of titanium products such as titanium concentrate ore, acid dissolved titanium slag and high titanium slag that are in the same production chain with TiO2 also kept sliding.
In H1 2015, export of China’s TiO2 stopped its explosive growth influenced by the depressed global economy. The global TiO2 market was getting worse and TiO2 price in the global market kept declining, casting China’s TiO2’s performance advantages into the shade. CCM predicts that it is hard for China’s export market of TiO2 to recover in H2 2015 when the global economy has no substantive improvement.
Warehouse explosions in Tianjin have caused extensive destruction in and around the warehouse compound. According to CCM’s investigation, the blasts mainly involve China’s methyl alcohol industry, polyethylene industry, polypropylene industry, etc. Regarding the TiO2 industry, the influence is mainly reflected in cost of storage and logistics and the direct impact is very limited.
On 20 Aug., 2015, Chemours announced to launch its five-point transformation plan. It will eliminate roughly 150,000 t/a of TiO2 capacity in the US. This is the third international company to reduce or stop production of TiO2 within a month after Huntsman and Tronox. The TiO2 industry around the world has been dropped to the bottom.
On 27 July, 2015, Jilin Gpro released its 2015 semi-annual financial report. Accordingly, its net profit soared by 204.87% year on
year. Specifically, a large amount of the profit was coming from investment, not its major TiO2 business. CCM believes that investment is becoming an important profit generator for Chinese listed TiO2 companies under such depressed market conditions.
From insufficient supply to oversupply, the China’s titanium sponge industry went through eras of colossal profits and huge losses in succession and then its backward capacity began to be eliminated. As the industry became more and more standard and stable in 2015 and capacity utilization rate was low for a long time, market price of titanium sponge began to rebound slowly in H1 2015.
However, the recovery of the industry may lead to unbalanced supply and demand relationship again and then cause decline in market price of titanium sponge in H2 2015.
Since June 2015, market price of TiO2 continued to plunge nationwide. However, as the biggest upstream product of TiO2, titanium concentrate ore from Sichuan Province maintained its stable price. According to CCM, it is mainly due to the reduced output of titanium concentrate in the market, the increased production costs and the influence of the devaluation of Renminbi.
On 7 Aug., 2015, data from the NBS show that China’s growth speed of the output of coating hit its bottom in H1 2015. CCM believes that it is mainly because of the declining demand from downstream industries. In the future, with the implementation of the One Belt and One Road Initiative and other national macroeconomic strategies and the changes of economic conditions home and abroad, China’s coating industry will enter a transformation stage and focus on products which are highly automatic and environmental friendly and with high added value.”
“Drops recorded in exports & imports of TiO2 in China in June 2015
Imports of titanium placer and feedstock increase while output of titanium concentrate ore drops in China in June 2015
TiO2 price continues to plunge in China in Aug. 2015
China’s exports of TiO2 drop slightly in H1 2015
Third China TiO2 Chloride Process Technology and Raw Materials Application Seminar held in Henan
Warehouse explosions in Tianjin exerts little influence on China’s TiO2 industry
Chemours integrates TiO2 business as part of five-point transformation plan
Jilin Gpro releases 2015 semi-annual report
Huntsman shuts TiO2 production facilities in Calais France
CNNC TD stops planning industry integration project
Tronox: revenue from TiO2 segment presents YoY decrease of 17% in Q2 2015
Chemours: sales of Titanium Technologies segment drop by 18% year on year in Q2 2015
Integrated TiO2 hydrolysis technologies facility system put into whole-process trial production with materials on TiO2 output of Henan Billions hits 108,200 tonnes in H1 2015
Yunnan Xinli’s chloride-process TiO2 presented in Major Science & Technology Achievement Publication
China’s recovered titanium sponge market hard to be continued in H2 2015
Market price of titanium concentrate ore from Sichuan Province maintains stable since June 2015
China’s growth speed of coating output hits bottom in H1 2015
AkzoNobel signs strategic cooperation agreement with Poly Group
Resin and electrophoretic paint production equipment of BASF put into production in Shanghai
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“Henan Billions Chemicals Co., Ltd.; CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide Co., Ltd.; Yunnan Xinli Nonferrous Metals Co.,Ltd; Jinpu Gpro Titanium industry Co,Ltd; Sichuan Lomon Titanium Co., Ltd. ;
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