This year, with the soaring prices of various raw materials, calls for price increases for ceramic tiles have never stopped. However, "Ceramic Information" noticed that since early May, the ceramic industry has set off a wave of violent price increases. In less than half a month, hundreds of ceramic factories across the country have successively issued price increase letters (incomplete statistics). Only On May 13, dozens of ceramic companies announced price increases.
This round of price increases covers ceramic production areas such as Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi, Henan, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Yunnan. Most of them are ceramic production areas and enterprises that use coal as the main energy source. A small number of For production areas and enterprises that use natural gas.
The main reason for the price increase is the sharp rise in coal prices. Coal prices for ceramic enterprises generally reach 1,000-1,370 yuan/ton. Ceramic enterprises in Yunnan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Shandong and other production areas said that the current coal price is almost the highest in history. Coupled with the rise in other raw materials, the current production costs and enterprise survival are already overwhelmed.
▲Since May 8, ceramic enterprises in Hunan, Gansu, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Fujian have collectively announced price increases
Coal “one price a day”
In many ceramic production areas, the price is as high as 1,300 yuan/ton
“This round of price increases for raw materials is really unprecedented and has not been seen in decades.” Lao Zhang, who has been in the coal business for many years, said with emotion, “When I hear the price of coal now, I get scared. This year, the price of coal has soared. It’s like being on a rocket, with prices rising almost every month. In recent days, the price has been rising every day. Since May 1, the price has increased by almost 500 yuan/ton.”
According to "Ceramic Information", after May 10, the price of lump coal in major coal mines has successively exceeded the 1,000 yuan/ton mark. Adding logistics freight and intermediate links, the price in the hands of ceramics factories generally exceeds 1,200 yuan/ton. According to incomplete statistics, as of May 13, the price of coal (lump coal) used by ceramic enterprises in Jiangxi exceeded 1,300 yuan/ton, the price of coal used by ceramic enterprises in Hubei and Yunnan was around 1,300 yuan/ton, and the price of coal used by ceramic enterprises in Shandong was 1,200-1,200 yuan/ton. 1,300 yuan/ton.
Due to their proximity to raw coal production areas, coal prices in production areas such as Gansu, Shanxi, and Shaanxi are relatively cheap, but coal prices for ceramic companies have also exceeded the 1,000 yuan mark.
The person in charge of purchasing at a ceramics company in Gansu told "Ceramic Information" that its coal purchasing price averaged 520 yuan/ton last year and has been on the rise this year. In May, coal prices have broken historical records.
"On May 13, the price of coal at the factory was 960 yuan/ton, but it is hard to say what the price will be in the future. The price of coal at a factory near us has exceeded 1,000 yuan/ton."
The roller-coaster rise in coal prices has directly affected the normal production and operations of most ceramic companies in the north.
In this regard, the person in charge of purchasing of the above-mentioned ceramics company made an calculation. Compared with last year, the price of coal in May this year has almost doubled. The production cost of 800×800mm ceramic tiles has increased by approximately 1.1 yuan per piece (Jiangxi In areas with relatively high coal prices such as Hubei and Hunan, the comprehensive cost increased to 1.3-1.5 yuan/piece).
“This is fatal for small factories like us. For ceramic factories in the northwest region, the profit per brick of 800×800mm size is only about 1 yuan. Now such a small profit margin is squeezed out by coal prices. . And the following June and July will be the off-season, so this year will be very difficult,” said the person in charge of a northwest ceramics factory.
Converted by calorific value
The cost of coal is already equivalent to that of gas
The person in charge of Guangdong Yitao Enterprise recalled to "Ceramic Information" that in the second half of 2016, the price of coal for Guangdong ceramic enterprises briefly rose to 1,100-1,200 yuan/ton, but never exceeded 1,300 yuan/ton. At this price, coal-fired ceramic enterprises no longer have any cost advantage over gas-fired ones.
"Ceramic Information" has proven from various sources in the fields of kiln technology, energy and other fields that the calorific value of conventional natural gas currently used in my country's ceramic industry is approximately 8,500 kcal/m³, and the calorific value of coal is approximately 6,000 kcal/kg. When comparing the costs of natural gas and coal, taking into account the calorific value loss and gas production cost in the coal gas production process, the calorific value of 1 kilogram of coal is roughly equivalent to 0.5m³ of natural gas.
According to the latest prices, the price of 38 pieces of coal used by ceramic enterprises in Jiangxi, Hubei, Yunnan and other production areas generally reaches about 1,300 yuan/ton, or 1.3 yuan per kilogram of coal. In terms of calorific value, it is roughly equivalent to 2.6 yuan of natural gas. Yuan/m³.
According to "Ceramic Information", the current natural gas price in Jiajiang, Sichuan is 1.8-2.5 yuan/m³, the natural gas price in Zibo, Shandong is 2.58-2.88 yuan/m³, and the natural gas price in the Liaoning Faku production area is 2.33 yuan/m³... In contrast, the energy cost of using coal has equaled or exceeded that of natural gas, which has put pressure on coal-fired ceramic enterprises to rise sharply.
“In the cost structure of ceramic tiles, energy costs such as coal account for about 30%. The skyrocketing price of coal has a negative impact on the production of ceramic enterprises.The impact is very large. "The boss of a ceramics company in Jiangxi told "Ceramic Information" that since the beginning of the year, the prices of coal, chemical raw materials, cartons, etc. have been rising one after another and continuously. Taking the 800×800mm specification as an example, cumulatively, the production cost of a brick has increased by approximately 1.5 yuan/piece.
After conversion, this is equivalent to an increase in unit cost of 2.3 yuan/㎡. Taking a medium and large ceramic enterprise with a daily output of 100,000㎡ as an example, the daily increase in production cost is as high as 230,000 yuan. "In addition, the current vicious competition in the ceramic tile industry is extremely fierce. Many ceramic factories have meager profits and will be unprofitable or losing money if they don't increase prices."
“If you don’t increase the price, you can only stop production”
The most violent price increase in 2021 is coming
In response to this round of "skyrocketing" coal prices, ceramic enterprises in ceramic production areas such as Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi, Henan, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Yunnan collectively announced price increases.
"Ceramic Information" noticed that since May 10, price increase letters from dozens of ceramic factories have been widely circulated in WeChat Moments. Among them, in the Hubei production area alone, at least a dozen ceramic factories in Dangyang, Jingmen, Qichun, Zhijiang and other places announced price increases in just three or four days. According to conservative statistics, after May 10, more than 100 ceramic companies across the country announced price increases.
▲Since May 10, at least a dozen ceramic factories in Hubei production areas have announced price increases
“According to the current coal price, basically every coal-burning ceramics company will increase its price, otherwise the cost pressure will not be able to bear it.” said the person in charge of a ceramics company in Hubei who did not want to be named.
According to the 2020 "Ceramic Information" "Ceramic Industry Long March" statistics, there are currently 1,155 ceramic production companies in my country, 611 ceramic companies using natural gas, and about 500 coal-burning ceramic companies. "Theoretically, these 500 coal-fired ceramic companies will all raise their ceramic tile prices more or less in the near future."
On May 13, many ceramic companies in Gao'an, Jiangxi Province, issued price increase notices. "With the first batch of ceramic companies in Gao'an issuing price increase notices, more companies in Gao'an will start to send price increase letters to customers in the near future. With such a large cost increase, manufacturers will definitely have to increase prices. It would be abnormal not to increase." The sales person in charge of a ceramics company in Gao'an analyzed that.
▲Starting from May 13, ceramic enterprises in Jiangxi production areas have collectively announced price increases
According to "Ceramic Information", although only some ceramic companies in Jiangxi issued price increase notices on May 13, many ceramic companies are communicating with dealers and OEMs in advance, and production costs continue to rise. Next, product prices will be raised in the near future based on actual conditions.
“Companies that do not increase prices can only suspend production, but for many companies, the cost of suspending production is greater, so price increases are inevitable, and this round will be the largest and largest increase in the ceramic tile industry this year. The price trend is rising,” an owner of a high-tech ceramics company told Ceramics Information.
(The article is reproduced from Ceramic Information)
