First-Line Fax·Issue 1
Last week, the construction and ceramics industry was still booming.
The first is natural gas prices. Relevant monitoring data shows that the average price of domestic liquefied natural gas on February 23 was 8,090 yuan/ton, an increase of 4,223 yuan/ton from 3,866.67 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month, an increase of 109.22% during the month; an increase of 173.31% compared with the same period last year, and in some areas It has exceeded the 9,000 yuan mark.
Specifically, the price of natural gas in the Guangdong Enping production area has risen for the fifth consecutive time in 12 days:
On February 12, the gas price was raised from 3.75 yuan/m³ to 4.95 yuan/m³;
On February 16, the gas price was raised again to 5.28 yuan/m³;
On February 19, the gas price was raised for the third time to 5.48 yuan/m³;
On February 21, the gas price was raised for the fourth time to 6.55 yuan/m³;
On February 24, the gas price was raised for the fifth time to 7.18 yuan/m³.
The latest current price of natural gas in the production area is 7.18 yuan/m³. Compared with before the price increase, the price increase has exceeded 92%. It is also reported that the price of LNG (liquefied natural gas) in Qingyuan has exceeded 10,000 yuan/ton last week, which is roughly converted to about 7.14 yuan/m³. Jiajiang Natural Gas Company issued the "Notice on Price Adjustment of Advance Gas Payments" stating that the CIF price of imported LNG natural gas has remained stable.Continued to rise, the additional gas price in February is 7.28 yuan/cubic meter. The natural gas advance price of ceramic enterprises is temporarily 1.1 yuan per cubic meter for the advanced gas payment in February. The relevant person in charge of a ceramics company in Gao'an revealed that on February 26, Gao'an LNG tank gas had reached 7 yuan/m³...
At the same time, raw material prices are also gradually rising. After the beginning of the new year, aluminum ore, zirconium silicate, ink, color glaze and other green body raw materials and chemical raw materials have risen sharply. Among them, the price of zirconium silicate has exceeded 21,000 yuan/ton, an increase of about 30% from the beginning of the year. . The latest news shows that many titanium dioxide companies will also adjust prices in the near future, with an increase of US$150-400/ton.
As energy and raw material prices rise, ceramic tile production costs for ceramic companies are also rising. The peak sales season for the home improvement market will begin after March. Some analysts believe that the ex-factory price of ceramic tiles in the first half of the year will not be reduced. If the prices of raw materials, chemical raw materials, and energy continue to rise, The possibility of price increases for ceramic tiles cannot be ruled out.
In fact, with the rise in natural gas prices, ceramic companies in Guangdong, Jiangxi, Sichuan and other production areas have announced increases in ceramic tile ex-factory prices due to cost pressures, and some have even restarted production. Many companies are preparing to shut down their kilns in response.
Many ceramic companies have increased prices one after another< /span>
There is no large-scale price increase overall
The Jiangxi production area was the first to start the “price increase”. On February 18, two Xiwa companies in Jiangxi issued a "Notice of Product Price Adjustment" and decided to increase prices starting from February 25. All large tiles with specifications of 300×450mm and 6kg, 300×400mm and 6kg. The heavy Chinese-style Roman single wave will be increased by 0.3 yuan/piece. On February 25, a ceramics company in Gao'an announced that it would raise the price of rock slabs from March 1. The price of the entire range of 1370×1370×12mm specifications will be increased by 3 yuan/㎡, 1600×1600×12mm, 1600×2700×12mm, 1600×3200× The entire range of 12mm specifications will be increased by 5 yuan/㎡.
Some ceramic companies in Guangdong and Sichuan production areas have also issued price increase notices in the near future. Among them, Guangdong ceramic companies began to adjust prices as early as February 26, with a price increase of 1-3 yuan/piece; Sichuan ceramic companies began to increase product prices on March 1, with price increases for categories including large slabs and rock. Plate, medium plate, porcelain tiles, etc. Among them, the 750×1500 ceramic tiles have been increased by 2 yuan/piece, and the 300×600 tiles have been increased by 0.1 yuan/piece.
In addition,Affected by the large fluctuations in natural gas prices, some ceramic manufacturers in Qingyuan and Enping production areas have delayed the ignition and opening of kilns. Ceramics companies have suspended the production of warm kilns on their production lines and postponed the ignition of warm kilns until early March; some ceramic companies have suffered monthly losses of more than 30 million due to the sharp rise in gas prices, and have had to temporarily stop the production of low-value product lines; there are also many ceramic companies Production lines are reduced.
Generally speaking, the current price increase trend in the construction and ceramics industry is among some regions and enterprises, and has not yet formed a major trend. Large-scale price increases. Most ceramic companies/dealers have already raised product prices at the end of 2021 and the market situation is cold. They are still waiting and watching without raising prices, or they dare not start production at all because gas prices are too high. It is reported that due to the skyrocketing gas prices and the rising prices of other raw materials and chemical materials, production hasProduction costs are rising. The current operating rate in Guangdong production areas has hit a new low in many years. The kiln shutdown in Guangdong production areas may exceed 50%.
Gas prices are uneven across regions
Will Guangdong ceramic companies lose their production advantage?
At present, although the gas prices in various ceramic production areas are rising, the actual gas costs of ceramic companies vary. Compared with other production areas, the gas costs of ceramic companies in Guangdong and Jiangxi production areas have increased significantly. The person in charge of a ceramics company in Foshan said frankly that the current price of natural gas in Guangdong has fluctuated greatly, with the average price exceeding 6 yuan/m³. While the price of gas in other production areas has increased slightly, it has basically remained at 2-3 yuan/m³. The production cost difference between regions is 4-5 yuan/㎡ (calculated based on the production cost of 800×800mm). From this point of view, Ceramic companies in Guangdong can be said to have basically no advantage.
It is understood that the current gas prices for ceramic enterprises in various production areas across the country are not balanced. Some industry insiders concluded that the planned price of natural gas used by ceramic enterprises in Jiajiang, Sichuan has only increased slightly, and has not exceeded 3 yuan/m³. The price of unplanned natural gas is around 7 yuan/m³; so far, the planned price of the Jinjiang production area in Fujian The price of natural gas in the region remains at the original price, not exceeding 3 yuan/m³, and the Minqing production area remains at more than 4 yuan/m³; the Liaoning Faku production area maintains the price at the end of last year, less than 2.7 yuan/m³; the Shandong Zibo production area plans to basically maintain 3.8 yuan/m³ /m³; Most ceramic companies in the Gaoan production area of Jiangxi use centralized coal to produce gas. The coal price is calculated at a cost of 1,700 yuan/ton, which is approximately equivalent to 2.4 yuan/m³ of natural gas. In addition, some high-end ceramics companies that use natural gas have absorbed the rising costs by developing larger panels or high-quality differentiated products.This leaves room for prices of conventional products to fall after experiencing multiple rounds of increases last year. Overall, in terms of gas costs, Jiangxi production areas have a production advantage over Guangdong production areas that rely on natural gas.
The chaotic gas prices for ceramic companies have intensified the differentiation of production costs in ceramic production areas across the country, which may affect the country in the long run. The pattern of building ceramics industry.
