In the first half of 2022, the total output of Carbon Black completed by carbon black industry member enterprises was 2.54 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 7.03%, the largest decrease in recent years.
The profit margin of sales revenue dropped from 6.61% last year to 1.62% this year, showing a precipitous decline. The triple pressures of demand contraction, supply shock and expectation weakening have been "well" fulfilled in the carbon black industry. In addition to the weakening demand of the downstream tire industry, the impact of raw material supply is the main reason.
Export data in the first half of the year show that the price of exported carbon black is 2000 US dollars / ton less than that of imported carbon black.
The main reason for the decline in profits is overcapacity in the industry. In this case, some enterprises with small production capacity are trying to ensure the stability of cash flow and do not accept orders that lose money.
Recently, according to customs statistics, in July 2022, China's carbon black exports in that month were 86878 tons, a year-on-year increase of + 58% and a month on month increase of - 13%. In that month, the average export price of China's carbon black was 1620 US dollars / ton, a year-on-year increase of + 21% and a month on month increase of - 3%.
On the whole, carbon black exports in July remained at a high level. Regionally, China's carbon black exports in July were mainly to Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Hungary, Germany and other countries. Among them, the quantity exported to Vietnam is 23457 tons (accounting for 27%), Thailand is 18191 tons (accounting for 21%), Indonesia is 12272 tons (accounting for 14%), Hungary is 3802 tons (accounting for 4.4%), and Germany is 3060 tons (accounting for 3.5%).
From the regional perspective, the export data to Europe fell in July. According to the analysis of carbon black industry network, the decline in export data to Europe is mainly due to the weak demand of the European tire industry currently affected by economic factors, and the production and operating load of European tire enterprises was at a low level in July. However, from the perspective of traditional major markets, the volume of carbon black exported to Southeast Asian countries increased month on month in July, especially Vietnam, which increased by 21%, which is directly related to the strong recovery of industrial production in Southeast Asian countries, which indicates that the carbon black export situation of Southeast Asian countries is better.
In the future, the price of coal tar, China's domestic raw material, will continue to be high. Affected by the cost factor, the new order price of domestic carbon black enterprises rose one after another last week. At present, the gap between the price of domestic carbon black and that of foreign countries has gradually narrowed. In this case, the export price of carbon black will remain high.
