September Titanium Market Review
In September, the domestic titanium ore market was stable and the market price was unchanged from the previous month. In September, the operating rate of Panzhihua titanium mine enterprises has rebounded and the supply is sufficient. Inventories of imported titanium mines continued to be high, and competition among traders remained fierce. The price of titanium ore used in the titanium dioxide industry was stable, and the price of titanium ore used in other industries declined slightly. The demand for rutile market is picking up. The price of 95% rutile offer is slightly higher. The price of rutile in the outer disk is still significantly higher than the domestic price. Some domestic enterprises need to purchase foreign products at a price higher than the selling price.
In September, the operating rate of the domestic titanium slag industry rebounded slightly, and the price of chlorinated slag dropped slightly by RMB 20/ton, and the price of acid slag remained unchanged. Among them, some of the slag-reducing enterprises that reduced production in the previous period resumed production in September, and the downstream demand recovery was not obvious, but the export market performed more brilliantly; the operating rate of acid slag enterprises remained basically stable, and the procurement of downstream customers was stable.
In September, the price of titanium tetrachloride rose by 300 yuan to 500 yuan / ton. Due to the release of environmentally-friendly production capacity, the domestic titanium tetrachloride market is still in short supply, and the price increase is also reasonable. In September, the price of titanium sponge and titanium was also affected. Among them, the price of 0# sponge titanium rose to 66,000 ~ 67,000, and the production enterprises are still out of stock; titanium prices rose 4 yuan ~ 10 yuan / kg.
In September, the titanium dioxide market did not change from the off-season to the peak season as it did in previous years. Downstream markets, especially in the coatings industry, are in low demand. Although major titanium dioxide companies are striving to keep their prices strong, some titanium dioxide companies are still choosing to cut prices due to increased inventory. By the end of September, more than 10 domestic titanium dioxide enterprises announced an increase in product quotations, and the market ushered in a favorable atmosphere.
Sponge titanium expansion storm
This year is destined to be a year of unsettled titanium industry. At the Sino-Russian Titanium Industry Summit held on September 17, various news emerged, the broad prospects of new materials, the gradual maturity of new titanium products, and the importance of well-known brands and titanium health products. But the most shocking news for the author is that several sponge titanium companies announced their own start-up and production increase plans in the forum, which opened a new round of expansion storm in the titanium industry. After the storm, the market structure of China's sponge titanium will undergo earth-shaking changes. Among them are the advancement of new technologies and the joy of application, as well as the semi-hidden market worries.
The keynote speeches on the forum were brilliant. Xinjiang Xiangyu New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., Luoyang Shuangrui Wanji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. and Pangang Group Chengdu Titanium Co., Ltd. all announced their future development plans. Among them, Xinjiang Xiangyu Phase I 30,000 tons of sponge titanium production line has been completed, and will soon be 12,000 tons of trial production, is expected to reach production by the end of this year or next year; Shuangrui Wanji Phase II 20,000 tons production line is about to be completed and will soon Production; Pangang Sponge Titanium Plant has decided to double the existing scale and add 15,000 tons of new capacity. At the beginning of September, the 4,000-ton sponge titanium production line of Sichuan Shengfeng Titanium Phase I has been quietly put into operation, and the sponge titanium industry in China has become very lively. Behind the fire, some corporate personnel also expressed concerns about future uncertainty. When the author and his old friends are joking and joking about it, this year's days are eating and drinking. After smiling, he replied: "This year is not an order, but next year's order is still not sure."
By 2020, China's sponge titanium capacity will expand to 162,000 tons, exceeding the peak of 2012 sponge titanium capacity. This does not include the planned potential capacity of 30,000 tons of Qinghai and 60,000 tons of Henan. If these two potential projects are counted, the future production capacity of sponge titanium in China will reach an astonishing 242,000 tons. Last year, the consumption of titanium sponge in China just exceeded 70,000 tons, and the global consumption of titanium sponge was around 180,000 tons. That is to say, if the downstream titanium processing materials cannot rapidly expand the application scale in the next few years, the sponge titanium industry will once again enter the adjustment period, and new and old enterprises will launch another round of fighting.
Different from more than 10 years ago, in this round of expansion, the author discovered some new features: In addition to Sichuan Shengfeng, the new production capacity is the whole process, and the scale is large. After the expansion, the scale of the enterprises is 30,000 tons/ More than a year. The logic is clearer, and the whole process will ensure that enterprises are not plagued by the supply of upstream raw materials, and the large-scale will give enterprises the advantage brought by the scale effect.
The author believes that from the current market situation and policy direction, the problem of titanium tetrachloride production being bound by environmental protection will exist for a long time. Due to the large scale of new construction and expansion projects, it is inevitable that sufficient raw material supply can be obtained from the market. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a self-built chlorination unit. In the case of high operating rate, the electrolyzer will also reflect its economic benefits, effectively reduce costs, and thus win market space. The only worry is that the downstream market demand cannot grow synchronously with the sponge titanium production capacity, resulting in the unsuccessful release of production capacity. That is to say, a new round of metabolism in the sponge titanium industry is inevitable.
In the new round of competition, who will take more advantages and win? Let's look at the strengths and weaknesses of companies of all sizes. The advantages of the above-mentioned large-scale, full-process enterprises are based on the high operating rate. If the high operating rate cannot be achieved, the advantages of the magnesium electrolysis device will not be reflected. Not only that, because the scale of the whole process enterprise is large, its huge depreciation cost will be put into a lot of pressure if it is spread evenly. Therefore, large-scale full-process enterprises must seize orders to ensure that they can maintain a higher start. The unstable supply of raw materials in semi-process enterprises will become a factor limiting production, and its advantages are mainly reflected in less financial, depreciation burden, and flexible production rhythm. Unlike full-process enterprises, semi-process enterprises have lower costs of increasing production and reducing production, and can reduce operating pressure by controlling production in the case of less market orders. For example, during the market downturn three or four years ago, at that time, the whole process enterprise could not open the electrolysis device because of the market competition incentives and insufficient orders. Then in the next competition, the most important thing is quality and cost. The quality of the yield and the stability between batches constitute the quality factor. How each company can play its own advantages, such as electricity price, raw materials and sales ability, will determine their final cost. The author believes that in the foreseeable future, some enterprises with old equipment and backward technology will be destined to be replaced by new enterprises to complete the industry upgrade. Although this change is more cruel, competition iteration is also one of the driving forces of social progress. Who can be crowned in the future competition, let us wait and see.