The titanium dioxide industry has started its first round of price increases this year

Recently, the titanium dioxide market has experienced its first round of price increases this year.

On January 21st, Longbai Group Co., Ltd. announced in a letter that it has decided to increase the sales price of various types of titanium dioxide by 300 yuan/ton for domestic customers and 50 US dollars/ton for international customers on the basis of the original price from January 21st, 2025.

On the same day, Guangdong Huiyun Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. also sent a letter stating that from January 21st, the sales price of various types of titanium dioxide powder would be raised by 300 yuan/ton, and international customers would be raised by 50 US dollars/ton.

On January 22nd, China National Nuclear Corporation Huayuan Titanium Dioxide Co., Ltd. and Anhui Anada Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. successively issued letters announcing price increases, raising RMB 500/ton for domestic customers and USD 100/ton for international customers. Yibin Tianyuan Materials Group Co., Ltd. has raised the sales price of chlorinated titanium dioxide by 300 yuan/ton and the international market powder sales price by 50 US dollars/ton. At the same time, Panzhihua Dongfang Titanium Industry Co., Ltd., Kunming Donghao Technology Development Co., Ltd., and Guangxi Jinmao Titanium Industry Co., Ltd. have raised prices by 300 yuan/ton for various domestic customers and 50 US dollars/ton for international customers.

As of 16:00 on January 23, at least 14 titanium dioxide manufacturers have sent letters announcing price increases. This price increase has been nearly 10 months since the last domestic price adjustment, which is the longest interval since the second half of 2020 and the smallest magnitude. Although it came late, it was not absent, and thus the titanium dioxide price market stopped falling and rebounded, and the red market began.

Yang Xun, an industry analyst at Yan Titanium, believes that the reasons for this small-scale price increase are: firstly, since November 2024, there have been more production restrictions and shutdowns by titanium dioxide producers in Southwest and East China regions, resulting in a decline in operating rates, a slowdown in inventory growth, lower inventory positions of producers, and an overall decrease in supply in the trading market; Secondly, the inventory levels of channel partners and downstream suppliers are relatively low, which coincides with the approaching Spring Festival. The stocking and hoarding operations immediately cause supply shortages, and the situation of arranging orders and shipping is very common; The third is the support of raw material costs, and the low price level has made it difficult for many manufacturers to survive for a long time. They are also psychologically impatient for price increases, and the weak market has been weak for too long, with a strong desire for price increases; Fourthly, a small number of manufacturers have high inventory levels in the early stages but low prices. After running for a period of time and receiving orders, they reset to a reasonable price level; Fifthly, due to the shortage of China National Nuclear Corporation, there is also a strong willingness among Panxi titanium concentrate merchants, with recent increases of 20-30 yuan/ton and 30-80 yuan/ton respectively; Sixth, the magnitude and timing of Longbai Group's price increase are just right. Approaching the Spring Festival, a small price increase is an indication of the future market trend. Even if other manufacturers find it difficult to achieve a real increase, it can still send a tangible signal to stop the decline, and they will start to take real action after the holiday.

When it comes to the impact of the price increase letter on the industry, Yang Xun pointed out that Longbai Group's price increase letter has a certain driving effect and influence, and there may be manufacturers following up to announce price increases, with an expected increase of about 300 yuan/ton; For users and distributors who have not yet stocked or hoarded goods, increasing the expectation of ordering psychologically increases their desire to purchase. Based on past experience, the price increase of titanium dioxide is expected to have a continuous cycle, and this wave of price increases may last for at least 2-3 rounds, which will have a good boosting effect on the titanium dioxide price market. At the same time, for producers with new production capacity by 2025, their optimistic expectations for the market have increased.

Qi Yu, a titanium analyst at Tuduoduo Industrial Big Data Department, analyzed that the titanium dioxide market received a price increase letter in January, with the market first falling and then rising. At the beginning of the month, the listing price of Longqi was lowered by 200 yuan/ton due to increased stocking by downstream distributors, traders and other enterprises, gradual destocking of the market, tight spot supply of sulfuric acid titanium dioxide, and cancellation of previous discounts by some enterprises in the market. Factories are controlling their order taking; In January, the price of raw material titanium ore increased, and the price of sulfuric acid in some areas dropped by about 50 yuan/ton. However, the overall cost of titanium dioxide is still high, and the price is on the edge of the cost line; As the Spring Festival holiday approaches, about 20 titanium dioxide companies will undergo routine maintenance in the market from January to February, and production is expected to decline compared to December 2024. At present, the ex factory price including tax for rutile titanium dioxide is between 13800-14800 yuan/ton, and for anatase titanium dioxide it is between 12400-13200 yuan/ton.

Qi Yu pointed out that China's titanium dioxide export data is good, with a titanium dioxide export volume of 158400 tons in December 2024, a year-on-year increase of 10.53%; Last year, the export volume of titanium dioxide was 1.9017 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.84%. Longqi has sent a letter to raise the sales price of titanium dioxide by 300 yuan/ton, mainly due to high cost pressure. In addition, titanium dioxide manufacturers have little inventory before the holiday, and the market expects more companies to follow suit. After the holiday, the overall market is optimistic, and some companies may have a slight increase in transaction prices.