- Email: [email protected]
Black, white, silver & grey are still the most popular colours for new cars
FOCUS ON P I G M E N T S A MONTHLY REPORT FROM REG ADAMS
SEPTEMBER 2011 In this issue
MARKETS
3-4
Antimony trioxide prices fall back from $15 per kilo peak Ukraine’s TiO2 output should pass 150,000 tonnes mark this year
PLANTS
4-6
Lagos licences Chinese process to make nano-CaCO3 in Brazil Rhodia raises precipitated SiO2 capacity in China, France & US ISL to treble capacity in Germany Nippon Kasei ceases manufacture of carbon black at Onahama, following earthquake damage
COMPANIES
6-7
Audax wants at least $400 M for its stake in ColorMatrix Birla completes acquisition of Columbian (carbon black) CPS Color buys Lenteq New owners rename ex-Evonik carbon black business Imerys completes acquisition of Rio Tinto’s talc assets
LEGISLATION
7
EU bans usage of cadmium pigments in all plastics except recycled PVC
EVENTS
PIGMENTS
8
PIGMENTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PIGMENTS SECTOR ISSN 0969–6210
BLACK, WHITE, SILVER & GREY ARE STILL THE MOST POPULAR COLOURS FOR NEW CARS Illustrating the recovery from economic recession in the world as a whole, global vehicle production reached a new peak of 77.9 M units in 2010, following two years of decline – from 73.2 M units in 2007 to 70.5 M in 2008 to 61.0 M in 2009 (Ref 1). Last year’s production comprised 58.5 M passenger cars and 19.4 M commercial vehicles (vans, trucks, buses, coaches, etc). In North America, the current average paint application rate for new vehicles is around 15 kilos per passenger car and 17 kilos per light truck. Average application rates are slightly lower in Europe and Japan, reflecting the lower average size of passenger cars. Peak global production of vehicles last year called for peak global consumption of automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings. World automotive OEM paint consumption for cars and light trucks probably exceeded 1 M tonnes and 1.25 bn litres last year. As the world’s largest supplier of automotive paints, DuPont is well placed to evaluate trends in colour preferences shown by customers for new cars and it has published its data every year since 1952 (Ref 2). In all regions, the achromatic colours – black, white, silver and grey – are more popular than the chromatic colours, but there are some interesting differences between countries/regions for last year and some interesting trends towards or away from certain colours over time. In North America, white displaced silver as the most popular colour in
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
2007 and it has retained pole position since then. According to DuPont, this largely reflects the preferences of corporate vehicle fleet managers and of owner-drivers of light trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Ten years ago, silver was marginally more popular than white in North America – 18% versus 17%. At that time, black accounted for only 11% of total new cars, but black has become much more popular since the middle of the decade. Black is now the second most popular colour in North America, accounting for 18% of all new cars. The rise in popularity of grey has been even more dramatic – from 4% in 2000 to 10% in 2004 to 12% in 2008 and to 15% in 2010. Meanwhile, the chromatics have fallen in relative importance – from 50% of the total in 2000 to less than 30% in 2010. Green has been the biggest casualty, falling from 9% of the total in 2000 to 2% in 2010. In North America, red is more popular than blue, which is in turn more popular than the brown/beige category. Silver was also the most popular colour for new cars produced in Europe during the early- and mid2000s, but here it was displaced by black. In 2008, black accounted for 26% of the total. Although it has fallen back slightly, black remains at the top of the European list, accounting for 24% of new cars in 2010. Silver has dropped from a peak of 30% in 2003/04 to 17% in 2010. Grey has advanced from 11% in 2004 to 19% in 2010. White accounted for 15% of the total in 2000 and for 14% in 2010, but
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
FOCUS
ON
PIGMENTS
New Vehicles* Colour Popularity – % of regional/national totals 2010 Black White Silver Grey, medium/dark Blue/Turquoise Brown/Beige Green/Olive Red/Pink/Purple Yellow/Gold Other colours
NAm
Braz
Mex
EU
18 21 17 15 9 5 2 11 1 0
24 13 34 12 2 3 3 9 0 0
22 22 18 11 11 5 1 11 1 0
24 14 17 19 9 5 1 7 1 2
Russ China 21 15 18 17 7 1 11 8 2 0
31 9 33 18 2 1 1 4 1 0
India 8 29 24 9 6 11 3 8 2 0
Japan Korea 22 28 24 5 10 3 1 3 1 3
26 18 33 14 3 1 1 4 1 0
SAfr 14 35 24 11 6 0 0 5 4 2
*Passenger cars, SUVs, MPVs, people-carriers, light trucks & vans (manufactured in 2010) Source: DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report, 2010
during the intervening years it slipped back to a low-point of 8% in 2004 before recovering. In Europe, blue is more popular than red, which is in turn more popular than the brown/beige category. However, there has been a relative decline in all the chromatics, with blue falling from 17% in 2000 to 9% in 2010 and red falling from 11% in 2000 to 7% in 2010. Japan has traditionally been more biassed towards achromatic colours than either North America or Europe. It remains so today, but here the relative importance of the chromatics has increased over the past ten years, with blue/turquoise (at 10%) being ahead of red/pink/purple (3%) and brown/beige (3%). Green, yellow and other colours are not particularly significant. The trend away from silver and towards black has also occurred in the Japanese market. In 2000, silver and grey accounted for 43% of the total, ahead of white (at 32%) and black (at only 8%). In 2010, silver accounted for 24% and grey for 5%, making 29% combined. White is now the leading colour (at 28%), but black is catching up fast, having shot up from 13% in 2008 to 22% in 2010. In Brazil, silver strengthened its position as the most popular colour, increasing from 31% in 2008 to 34% in 2010. In Mexico, white and black are equally popular (at 22% each), ahead of silver (at 18%), blue (at 11%) and red/pink/purple (also at 11%). In China too, silver remains the most popular colour for new cars, just ahead of black (33% versus 31%). Grey has improved its position in the Chinese market, moving up from 15% in 2008 to 18% in 2010. White has substantially improved its position in China, moving up from 1% in 2008 to
2
9% in 2010, but white – as a colour for new cars – is clearly much less popular in China than in any other major market. In South Korea, the achromatics have always been more predominant than in any other major market. Last year, silver accounted for 33% of the total (versus 50% in 2008); black accounted for 26% (versus 25% in 2008); white accounted for 18% (unchanged from 2008); and grey accounted for 14% (versus 3% in 2008). In Russia, there has been a sharp decline in the popularity of silver over the past two years – from 30% in 2008 to 18% in 2010. Conversely, there have been sharp increases in the popularity both of black (from 14% to 21%) and of white (from 10% to 15%). Among the chromatics, green is more popular in Russia than in any other major market. Green accounted for 11% of the total in 2010, slightly down on the 13% recorded in 2008. There have been bigger falls in the popularity both of red (from 14% to 8%) and of blue (from 12% to 9%). In India, white was the most popular colour last year (at 29%), ahead of silver (at 24%). Black is less popular in India than in any other major market – at only 8% of the total in 2010. South Africa was included in DuPont’s latest survey for the first time. Here, white is clearly the most popular colour – at 35% of the total. Silver, in second place, accounts for 24%. Black accounts for 14% and grey for 11% of the new vehicles manufactured in South Africa in 2010. Yellow features more prominently in South Africa than in any other market, but even here it accounted for only 4% of the total in 2010.
There is a caveat that must be mentioned. DuPont is not the only automotive paint manufacturer which publishes reports on colour trends. PPG, which describes itself as “the world’s leading manufacturer of transportation coatings” has published its own report on car colour preferences every year onwards from 1990 (Ref 3). Broadly speaking, PPG’s findings are similar to those of DuPont. But there are at least two differences worth highlighting: For North America, PPG reports a “dramatic rise” in the popularity of silver/grey/charcoal from 20% in 2008 to 31% in 2010. According to DuPont, silver plus grey already accounted for 29% in 2008, rising only modestly to 32% last year. For Europe in 2010, PPG reports 32% for silver/grey/charcoal and 20% for white, versus DuPont’s figures of 36% and 14% respectively. PPG also highlights the long-term trend away from green and towards silver. According to PPG, green was the most popular colour for new cars in North America in 1994, accounting for 21% of the total, compared against only 8% for silver. Reg Adams
1) World Statistics on Production of Cars & Commercial Vehicles, by Country & Marque, 2010. Available from International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. Website: http://oica.net/category/production-statistics/ 2) Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, 2010. Available from DuPont. Website: http://www2.dupont.com/Media_Center/en_US/col or_popularity/ 3) Press Release from: PPG Industries, One PPG Plaza, Pittsburgh, PA 15272, USA. Tel: +1 412 434 2181. Website: http://www.ppg.com/ (5 Oct 2010)
SEPTEMBER 2011
SEPTEMBER 2011 In this issue
MARKETS
3-4
Antimony trioxide prices fall back from $15 per kilo peak Ukraine’s TiO2 output should pass 150,000 tonnes mark this year
PLANTS
4-6
Lagos licences Chinese process to make nano-CaCO3 in Brazil Rhodia raises precipitated SiO2 capacity in China, France & US ISL to treble capacity in Germany Nippon Kasei ceases manufacture of carbon black at Onahama, following earthquake damage
COMPANIES
6-7
Audax wants at least $400 M for its stake in ColorMatrix Birla completes acquisition of Columbian (carbon black) CPS Color buys Lenteq New owners rename ex-Evonik carbon black business Imerys completes acquisition of Rio Tinto’s talc assets
LEGISLATION
7
EU bans usage of cadmium pigments in all plastics except recycled PVC
EVENTS
PIGMENTS
8
PIGMENTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PIGMENTS SECTOR ISSN 0969–6210
BLACK, WHITE, SILVER & GREY ARE STILL THE MOST POPULAR COLOURS FOR NEW CARS Illustrating the recovery from economic recession in the world as a whole, global vehicle production reached a new peak of 77.9 M units in 2010, following two years of decline – from 73.2 M units in 2007 to 70.5 M in 2008 to 61.0 M in 2009 (Ref 1). Last year’s production comprised 58.5 M passenger cars and 19.4 M commercial vehicles (vans, trucks, buses, coaches, etc). In North America, the current average paint application rate for new vehicles is around 15 kilos per passenger car and 17 kilos per light truck. Average application rates are slightly lower in Europe and Japan, reflecting the lower average size of passenger cars. Peak global production of vehicles last year called for peak global consumption of automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings. World automotive OEM paint consumption for cars and light trucks probably exceeded 1 M tonnes and 1.25 bn litres last year. As the world’s largest supplier of automotive paints, DuPont is well placed to evaluate trends in colour preferences shown by customers for new cars and it has published its data every year since 1952 (Ref 2). In all regions, the achromatic colours – black, white, silver and grey – are more popular than the chromatic colours, but there are some interesting differences between countries/regions for last year and some interesting trends towards or away from certain colours over time. In North America, white displaced silver as the most popular colour in
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
2007 and it has retained pole position since then. According to DuPont, this largely reflects the preferences of corporate vehicle fleet managers and of owner-drivers of light trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Ten years ago, silver was marginally more popular than white in North America – 18% versus 17%. At that time, black accounted for only 11% of total new cars, but black has become much more popular since the middle of the decade. Black is now the second most popular colour in North America, accounting for 18% of all new cars. The rise in popularity of grey has been even more dramatic – from 4% in 2000 to 10% in 2004 to 12% in 2008 and to 15% in 2010. Meanwhile, the chromatics have fallen in relative importance – from 50% of the total in 2000 to less than 30% in 2010. Green has been the biggest casualty, falling from 9% of the total in 2000 to 2% in 2010. In North America, red is more popular than blue, which is in turn more popular than the brown/beige category. Silver was also the most popular colour for new cars produced in Europe during the early- and mid2000s, but here it was displaced by black. In 2008, black accounted for 26% of the total. Although it has fallen back slightly, black remains at the top of the European list, accounting for 24% of new cars in 2010. Silver has dropped from a peak of 30% in 2003/04 to 17% in 2010. Grey has advanced from 11% in 2004 to 19% in 2010. White accounted for 15% of the total in 2000 and for 14% in 2010, but
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
FOCUS
ON
PIGMENTS
New Vehicles* Colour Popularity – % of regional/national totals 2010 Black White Silver Grey, medium/dark Blue/Turquoise Brown/Beige Green/Olive Red/Pink/Purple Yellow/Gold Other colours
NAm
Braz
Mex
EU
18 21 17 15 9 5 2 11 1 0
24 13 34 12 2 3 3 9 0 0
22 22 18 11 11 5 1 11 1 0
24 14 17 19 9 5 1 7 1 2
Russ China 21 15 18 17 7 1 11 8 2 0
31 9 33 18 2 1 1 4 1 0
India 8 29 24 9 6 11 3 8 2 0
Japan Korea 22 28 24 5 10 3 1 3 1 3
26 18 33 14 3 1 1 4 1 0
SAfr 14 35 24 11 6 0 0 5 4 2
*Passenger cars, SUVs, MPVs, people-carriers, light trucks & vans (manufactured in 2010) Source: DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report, 2010
during the intervening years it slipped back to a low-point of 8% in 2004 before recovering. In Europe, blue is more popular than red, which is in turn more popular than the brown/beige category. However, there has been a relative decline in all the chromatics, with blue falling from 17% in 2000 to 9% in 2010 and red falling from 11% in 2000 to 7% in 2010. Japan has traditionally been more biassed towards achromatic colours than either North America or Europe. It remains so today, but here the relative importance of the chromatics has increased over the past ten years, with blue/turquoise (at 10%) being ahead of red/pink/purple (3%) and brown/beige (3%). Green, yellow and other colours are not particularly significant. The trend away from silver and towards black has also occurred in the Japanese market. In 2000, silver and grey accounted for 43% of the total, ahead of white (at 32%) and black (at only 8%). In 2010, silver accounted for 24% and grey for 5%, making 29% combined. White is now the leading colour (at 28%), but black is catching up fast, having shot up from 13% in 2008 to 22% in 2010. In Brazil, silver strengthened its position as the most popular colour, increasing from 31% in 2008 to 34% in 2010. In Mexico, white and black are equally popular (at 22% each), ahead of silver (at 18%), blue (at 11%) and red/pink/purple (also at 11%). In China too, silver remains the most popular colour for new cars, just ahead of black (33% versus 31%). Grey has improved its position in the Chinese market, moving up from 15% in 2008 to 18% in 2010. White has substantially improved its position in China, moving up from 1% in 2008 to
2
9% in 2010, but white – as a colour for new cars – is clearly much less popular in China than in any other major market. In South Korea, the achromatics have always been more predominant than in any other major market. Last year, silver accounted for 33% of the total (versus 50% in 2008); black accounted for 26% (versus 25% in 2008); white accounted for 18% (unchanged from 2008); and grey accounted for 14% (versus 3% in 2008). In Russia, there has been a sharp decline in the popularity of silver over the past two years – from 30% in 2008 to 18% in 2010. Conversely, there have been sharp increases in the popularity both of black (from 14% to 21%) and of white (from 10% to 15%). Among the chromatics, green is more popular in Russia than in any other major market. Green accounted for 11% of the total in 2010, slightly down on the 13% recorded in 2008. There have been bigger falls in the popularity both of red (from 14% to 8%) and of blue (from 12% to 9%). In India, white was the most popular colour last year (at 29%), ahead of silver (at 24%). Black is less popular in India than in any other major market – at only 8% of the total in 2010. South Africa was included in DuPont’s latest survey for the first time. Here, white is clearly the most popular colour – at 35% of the total. Silver, in second place, accounts for 24%. Black accounts for 14% and grey for 11% of the new vehicles manufactured in South Africa in 2010. Yellow features more prominently in South Africa than in any other market, but even here it accounted for only 4% of the total in 2010.
There is a caveat that must be mentioned. DuPont is not the only automotive paint manufacturer which publishes reports on colour trends. PPG, which describes itself as “the world’s leading manufacturer of transportation coatings” has published its own report on car colour preferences every year onwards from 1990 (Ref 3). Broadly speaking, PPG’s findings are similar to those of DuPont. But there are at least two differences worth highlighting: For North America, PPG reports a “dramatic rise” in the popularity of silver/grey/charcoal from 20% in 2008 to 31% in 2010. According to DuPont, silver plus grey already accounted for 29% in 2008, rising only modestly to 32% last year. For Europe in 2010, PPG reports 32% for silver/grey/charcoal and 20% for white, versus DuPont’s figures of 36% and 14% respectively. PPG also highlights the long-term trend away from green and towards silver. According to PPG, green was the most popular colour for new cars in North America in 1994, accounting for 21% of the total, compared against only 8% for silver. Reg Adams
1) World Statistics on Production of Cars & Commercial Vehicles, by Country & Marque, 2010. Available from International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. Website: http://oica.net/category/production-statistics/ 2) Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, 2010. Available from DuPont. Website: http://www2.dupont.com/Media_Center/en_US/col or_popularity/ 3) Press Release from: PPG Industries, One PPG Plaza, Pittsburgh, PA 15272, USA. Tel: +1 412 434 2181. Website: http://www.ppg.com/ (5 Oct 2010)
SEPTEMBER 2011