Carbon black leading companies hold different views on the future direction of the market

The prospects of the global carbon black market in the coming months have attracted much attention, and the industry has different views on the market direction. Recently, experts in the carbon black industry have issued various signals on issues such as pricing and future balance of supply and demand, demonstrating complex market trends.

In the first half of this year, the performance of carbon black suppliers showed a diversified trend. As a typical representative, Donghai Carbon Company, although its sales of rubber carbon black were the same as last year, sales increased by 15% year-on-year, and operating profit more than doubled. According to Donghai Carbon, the growth in sales and profits was due to increased productivity and the transfer of environmental investment costs, especially in the North American market.

Cabot's reinforced materials division reported a 17% increase in profits despite a decline in sales and sales in the fiscal third quarter. Cabot believes that this is mainly due to the decline in sales of rubber carbon black due to the weak replacement tire market. Sales fell the most in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with 12%, 10% and 5% respectively, followed by a decline in the Americas. 10%, while Asia decreased by 5%.

Oilelong Engineering Carbon Company also continued this trend, with the profit of rubber carbon black business increasing significantly year-on-year, mainly due to the increase in contract prices. However, in the three months to the end of June, Oillion's rubber carbon black sales fell by 14%, and sales fell by more than 9% year-on-year. The performance report pointed out that the decline in sales was mainly due to "destocking and destocking deferral" by customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Americas.

Despite weak market demand prospects, the three major carbon black suppliers remain optimistic about their earnings and pricing prospects for the rest of the year. Cabot's President and CEO Co., Ltd. said that a certain proportion of the company's customers have signed multi-year business contracts and it is expected that the pricing of carbon black contracts will increase in 2024. However, regarding the possible impact of the new EU sanctions on Russia in June 2024, Corchamp emphasized that the reliability of supply is crucial to customers.

At the same time, some industry insiders hold different views on the trend of the carbon black market in the coming months. In feedback published in the European Rubber Journal, an anonymous source said that global markets are falling and it is unlikely to recover in 2024, calling for vigilance and not to panic too much. Regarding the possible impact of the new sanctions imposed by Russia, some people believe that Russian carbon black dealers have sufficient reserves in Europe to meet demand in the next few years. Others believe that the supply of carbon black from the outside is sufficient to meet the demand of the European market. Especially with low global freight rates, carbon black imports have become more attractive.

Based on the above views, the future changes in the carbon black market are full of uncertainty, with different views from suppliers and observers, but the market trend will still be affected by many factors.