- Email: [email protected]
Continental & Cabot endorse North American carbon black price hikes
FOCUS dispersions. The nanofiller consists of a silicone core encased in an acrylic shell, with an average particle size of 120 nanometres. Using this nanofiller at 3% loading: the maximum peak curing temperature for the powder coating can be shifted to higher levels; the start, end and onset temperatures for the curing reaction can be decreased; and the thermal stability of the powder coating can be slightly improved. Papers from other conference sessions on the first day that may be of interest to 'Focus on Pigments' readers include: a review of silicone-based materials for paint systems of today and tomorrow, by Dr David Pierre (of Dow Corning); manganese- or iron-based products as alternatives to cobalt as paint driers, by Dr Leendert Van der Veen (of Eindhoven Technical University); modified starch as a binder for waterborne interior paints, by Dr Christina Gabriel (of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research); future dispersion technologies in lacquer and paint manufacture, by Dr HansJoachim Jacob (of Ystral GmbH); a paper with the intriguing title 'Can accelerated weathering predict the influence of TiO2 on the outdoor durability of white topcoats?', by Dr Annemie Verhaege (of Chemours); and the prediction of colour development of coated wood surfaces during weathering and maintenance, by Dr Boris Forsthuber (of Holzforschung, Vienna). On the second day of the conference, the session on sustainability and biobased materials began with a presentation by Mr Tony Mash (of TMA Consulting) reviewing the goals and achievements of the BCF's 2009 Landmark Sustainable Development policy. Referring to the UK paint industry's disposal of solid wastes, he noted that in 1996 the split was 75% landfill, 5% incineration and only 17% recycling, whereas today (2014) the split is 12% landfill, 18% incineration and 65% recycling. In the context of energy conservation, Mr Mash noted that the industry's overall average usage per tonne of paint produced was 323 kWh in 2014 – less than half the 1997 figure of 665 kWh. Mr Jonathan Bourne (of Nexant Consulting) was the next speaker to come to the podium, highlighting the importance of energy pricing in building a sustainable future for the world paint industry. He presented a chart showing the pattern of the benchmark crude oil price (in terms of constant-value 2014 US dollars per barrel) for the period 1860-2015. From a peak of more than July 2016
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$120 in 1865, the price dropped below the $40 mark in the late 1870s and stayed below that mark for nearly 100 years before rising to more than $100 in the early 1980s. It then fell back below the $40 mark in 1985 and stayed below that mark for the next 20 years. The warning signs became apparent as 2005 dawned as one of our editorials noted: "The world must learn to live with oil prices at more than $40 per barrel.'' (Ref 3). Over the next eight years, the price soared to reach the heights of $120 again during 2008 and 2012. However, since then it has dropped back below $60. The message is that this is not going to be a relatively short-term blip: a crude oil price of less than $60 per barrel (in constant-value 2014 dollars) is more like normality! Mr Bourne also highlighted the fact that the global crude oil supply/ demand balance is still mainly driven by the use of oil as a fuel or an energy resource. In 2014, this application accounted for 84% of the world's crude oil consumption, while the use of oil as a petrochemical feedstock accounted for only 11% and other non-energy applications for only 5%. Mr Bourne's concluding remarks were sobering: "In a normal scenario for oil prices, it will be extremely difficult for bio-based raw materials to be competitive with established hydrocarbon-based raw materials. Widespread substitution of higher volume paint resins and additives by bio-based alternatives is unlikely and probably unnecessary in the foreseeable future. Perhaps it will be more beneficial if research is directed at new molecules that can only be derived from bio-based sources and which provide unique performance benefits. These are likely to be smaller volume, higher priced products.'' Other papers from the second day of the conference that may be of interest to 'Focus on Pigments' readers include: an examination of the potential for 2octyl acrylate (derived from castor oil) as a bio-based raw material for making paint binder resins, by Dr Simon Austin (of Synthomer); a discussion of alternatives to hexavalent chromium in anti-corrosion paints and a description of the in-situ scanning Kelvin probe for accelerated screening of new inhibitor pigment systems, by Dr Patrick Dodds (of Tata Steel); the use of blanc fixe, ultrafine Sachtosperse and other barium sulfate products for corrosion resistance and as pigment particle spacers, by Dr Esko Pajunen (of Huntsman); and the benchmarking of dirt pick-up resistance of exterior architectural paints, by Dr Amy Cooper (of Chemours).
Thus concluded the third European Technical Coatings Congress. The fourth ETCC will be held in the Netherlands in 2018. Meanwhile, Surfex should be back at Birmingham in two years' time, hosted by OCCA, which by then will probably have merged with the Royal Society of Chemistry. Reg Adams 1) For further details on the European Technical Coatings Congress at Birmingham (25-26 May 2016), including copies of the conference papers, please contact: Ms Lena Witte, Vincentz Network, PO Box 6247, D-30062 Hannover, Germany. Tel: +49 (0)511 9910281. Fax: +49 (0)511 9910279. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www. etcc2016.org 2) Nanoscale, 21 Mar 2015, 7 (11), 4567-5012 (Website: http://www.rsc.org/nanoscale) © RSC 2015 3) Focus on Pigments, Feb 2005, 1-3 (Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ focus-on-pigments) © Elsevier 2005
MARKETS Continental & Cabot endorse North American carbon black price hikes On 17 May 2016, Sid Richardson Carbon pioneered a price increase for its carbon black products delivered to North American customers, due to take effect as from 1 July. On 25 May, Orion announced a similar move. Both companies added that they will also be making certain changes to their packaging price schedules. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Jun 2016, 3-4). On 6 June, Continental Carbon announced that it would be increasing its North American prices, effective 1 July. Continental Carbon will raise the price of its carbon black products produced at its Phenix City plant in Alabama by $0.03 per pound (equivalent to $66 per tonne), while the price of its products produced at the Ponca City, OK or Sunray, TX plants will be raised by $0.02 per pound. (equivalent to $44 per tonne). The company stated: "We are experiencing continued increases in the costs to operate our plants and improve the overall quality of our products. These price increases are necessary to continue that commitment. For Phenix City, feedstock carbon black oil continues to be delivered at levels above the Platt's indicator. for which we must account.'' On 13 June, Cabot Corp announced that for all shipments to North American customers of carbon black products for
3
FOCUS industrial and tyre applications on or after 15 July 2016, invoice prices will be increased by $50 per tonne (equivalent to $0.0227 per pound) or by 5%, whichever is greater. The company stated: "This price increase is required to address persistently rising costs associated with manufacturing quality products, as well as costs related to regulatory compliance, packaging and logistics.'' By the end of June, there had apparently been no response from Birla Carbon. Original Source: Continental Carbon Co, 6 Jun (16850 Park Row, Houston,TX 77084, USA, Website: http://www.continentalcarbon.com) © Continental Carbon 2016. Original Source: Cabot Corp, 13 Jun 2016 (2 Seaport Lane, Boston, MA 02210-2019, USA, Website: http://www.cabotcorp.com) © Cabot 2016
Paul Ita reviews carbon black data from Fort Worth & Hainan conferences In his regular electronic newsletter, Mr Paul Ita (Founder & Principal of Notch Consulting) recently included reviews of two conferences of great significance for the world carbon black industry. The first was the Carbon Black China conference, held at Haikou (Hainan province) during the second half of March 2016. The event was hosted by the China Carbon Black Institute and featured more than 40 presentations, including nine by staff from the Institute itself. Mr Ita noted: "The papers were quite comprehensive and detailed, with a level of information sharing that would be unusual in a Western conference. There is an assumption that if a Chinese company determines a better way to do something, then it has an obligation to share its findings.'' Mr Ita presented the keynote address on the global industry's future prospects. Other foreign speakers who gave presentations in the opening session included: Dr Soumen Chakraborty (of Himadri Chemicals & Industries Ltd, India) and Mr CP Natarajan (of Ganpads Co, USA). Presentations in subsequent sessions covered product quality and testing, methods for removing iron, heavy metals and other impurities, exhaustgas cleaning and other environmental controls, manufacturing process improvements, heat recovery and energy efficiency, etc. Mr Ita described the general mood as "cautiously optimistic'', noting that China's carbon black industry had a very tough year in
4
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2015. China's year-on-year carbon black production declined for the first time in 20 years. At just over 5 M tonnes, production was 1.9% lower than in 2014. Exports fell by 13% and domestic demand was essentially flat. Selling prices fell sharply due to both lower feedstock prices and lower energy prices. The industry also faced intensive downward pricing pressures due to weak demand and overcapacity in both the carbon black industry itself and in the Chinese tyre industry. The second conference to be reviewed was the Carbon Black World conference, co-located with the Traction Summit (covering developments in the global tyre industry). The event, held during the last week of May 2016, was hosted by SmithersRapra at Fort Worth, Texas. Mr Ita noted that world carbon black consumption had increased by about 1% in tonnage terms in 2015, but there was a 20% drop in value terms, reflecting lower average prices, which in turn reflected lower hydrocarbon feedstock costs. Indian carbon black consumption increased (in volume terms), but consumption in Brazil and Russia fell. Meanwhile, carbon black demand increased by 3.0-3.5% in both North America and the European Union. However, despite the solid sales volume growth, regional suppliers based in North America and the EU remain under pressure, with reduced plant operating rates and lower realised selling prices caused by an influx of cheaper imports from China and Russia. Looking ahead, Mr Ita said: "We have entered an era from 2015 to 2020 where both North America and the EU will see greater investment in new tyre production capacity than China – a situation that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. The future will be interesting indeed. Speaking of the future, Notch Consulting will publish the new edition of the Carbon Black World Data Book in June 2016. This is our annual report of the state of the global carbon black industry, and the subscription price includes quarterly supply/demand updates through April 2017 as well as monthly carbon black pricing for the US, EU, Brazil, and China. For further information, please write to us at: info @ notchconsulting.com.'' The Data Book typically runs to more than 350 pages, with historical data for the past 10 years and forecasts stretching forward over the next 10 years. Data provided for each country and region include carbon black capacity
by company and plant, capacity utilisation, production, imports, exports, demand, markets (tyres for passenger cars, for trucks/buses and for other sectors, non-tyre rubber and speciality blacks), grades (tread, carcass, and other), as well as market value and average pricing. Original Source: Notch Consulting News, 24 Mar & 30 May 2016 (PO Box 1243, Amherst, MA 01004-1243, USA, Website: http:// notchconsulting.wordpress.com) © Notch Consulting Group 2016
TMR sees global spending on pigments rising at 3.8% per annum to $32 bn by 2023 Transparency Market Research Pvt Ltd (TMR, headquartered in Pune, India, with branch offices in Kolkata and Albany, NY) was founded in 2011 as a market research consultancy and publishing company. It now employs more than 300 people. Since its creation, the company has published more than 1500 multi-client reports on chemicals, materials, mining, energy, food and beverages, consumer goods, media, electronics, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. It has also conducted about 3000 proprietary customised market research studies. Back in 2013, we reviewed TMR's first multi-client report on the global pigments industry – covering all types of organic, inorganic and speciality pigments. (See 'Focus on Pigments', Jun 2013, 3-4). That report ran to 112 pages and was priced at $4595. TMR recently published an expanded and fully updated edition, which is more than treble the size of the first edition and carries a price-tag that is 70% higher, at $7795 for a single-user licence. The new report is divided into ten chapters. Chapter 1 outlines the research scope and methodology. Chapter 2 presents an executive summary of the findings. In Chapter 3, TMR discusses value-chain analysis, legislative constraints, drivers for pigment demand growth (notably the paint and plastics industry), potential restraints on future growth (notably environmental and health considerations) and new opportunities (eg stemming from nanotechnology). Chapter 4 examines the raw material cost basis and pigment price trends. Chapters 5 presents data on individual pigments and pigment types, separately for: TiO2, iron oxides, cadmium, carbon black, chrome, azo, phthalocyanine, quinacridone, metallic, high-performance organics, July 2016
ON
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$120 in 1865, the price dropped below the $40 mark in the late 1870s and stayed below that mark for nearly 100 years before rising to more than $100 in the early 1980s. It then fell back below the $40 mark in 1985 and stayed below that mark for the next 20 years. The warning signs became apparent as 2005 dawned as one of our editorials noted: "The world must learn to live with oil prices at more than $40 per barrel.'' (Ref 3). Over the next eight years, the price soared to reach the heights of $120 again during 2008 and 2012. However, since then it has dropped back below $60. The message is that this is not going to be a relatively short-term blip: a crude oil price of less than $60 per barrel (in constant-value 2014 dollars) is more like normality! Mr Bourne also highlighted the fact that the global crude oil supply/ demand balance is still mainly driven by the use of oil as a fuel or an energy resource. In 2014, this application accounted for 84% of the world's crude oil consumption, while the use of oil as a petrochemical feedstock accounted for only 11% and other non-energy applications for only 5%. Mr Bourne's concluding remarks were sobering: "In a normal scenario for oil prices, it will be extremely difficult for bio-based raw materials to be competitive with established hydrocarbon-based raw materials. Widespread substitution of higher volume paint resins and additives by bio-based alternatives is unlikely and probably unnecessary in the foreseeable future. Perhaps it will be more beneficial if research is directed at new molecules that can only be derived from bio-based sources and which provide unique performance benefits. These are likely to be smaller volume, higher priced products.'' Other papers from the second day of the conference that may be of interest to 'Focus on Pigments' readers include: an examination of the potential for 2octyl acrylate (derived from castor oil) as a bio-based raw material for making paint binder resins, by Dr Simon Austin (of Synthomer); a discussion of alternatives to hexavalent chromium in anti-corrosion paints and a description of the in-situ scanning Kelvin probe for accelerated screening of new inhibitor pigment systems, by Dr Patrick Dodds (of Tata Steel); the use of blanc fixe, ultrafine Sachtosperse and other barium sulfate products for corrosion resistance and as pigment particle spacers, by Dr Esko Pajunen (of Huntsman); and the benchmarking of dirt pick-up resistance of exterior architectural paints, by Dr Amy Cooper (of Chemours).
Thus concluded the third European Technical Coatings Congress. The fourth ETCC will be held in the Netherlands in 2018. Meanwhile, Surfex should be back at Birmingham in two years' time, hosted by OCCA, which by then will probably have merged with the Royal Society of Chemistry. Reg Adams 1) For further details on the European Technical Coatings Congress at Birmingham (25-26 May 2016), including copies of the conference papers, please contact: Ms Lena Witte, Vincentz Network, PO Box 6247, D-30062 Hannover, Germany. Tel: +49 (0)511 9910281. Fax: +49 (0)511 9910279. E-mail: [email protected]. Website: http://www. etcc2016.org 2) Nanoscale, 21 Mar 2015, 7 (11), 4567-5012 (Website: http://www.rsc.org/nanoscale) © RSC 2015 3) Focus on Pigments, Feb 2005, 1-3 (Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ focus-on-pigments) © Elsevier 2005
MARKETS Continental & Cabot endorse North American carbon black price hikes On 17 May 2016, Sid Richardson Carbon pioneered a price increase for its carbon black products delivered to North American customers, due to take effect as from 1 July. On 25 May, Orion announced a similar move. Both companies added that they will also be making certain changes to their packaging price schedules. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Jun 2016, 3-4). On 6 June, Continental Carbon announced that it would be increasing its North American prices, effective 1 July. Continental Carbon will raise the price of its carbon black products produced at its Phenix City plant in Alabama by $0.03 per pound (equivalent to $66 per tonne), while the price of its products produced at the Ponca City, OK or Sunray, TX plants will be raised by $0.02 per pound. (equivalent to $44 per tonne). The company stated: "We are experiencing continued increases in the costs to operate our plants and improve the overall quality of our products. These price increases are necessary to continue that commitment. For Phenix City, feedstock carbon black oil continues to be delivered at levels above the Platt's indicator. for which we must account.'' On 13 June, Cabot Corp announced that for all shipments to North American customers of carbon black products for
3
FOCUS industrial and tyre applications on or after 15 July 2016, invoice prices will be increased by $50 per tonne (equivalent to $0.0227 per pound) or by 5%, whichever is greater. The company stated: "This price increase is required to address persistently rising costs associated with manufacturing quality products, as well as costs related to regulatory compliance, packaging and logistics.'' By the end of June, there had apparently been no response from Birla Carbon. Original Source: Continental Carbon Co, 6 Jun (16850 Park Row, Houston,TX 77084, USA, Website: http://www.continentalcarbon.com) © Continental Carbon 2016. Original Source: Cabot Corp, 13 Jun 2016 (2 Seaport Lane, Boston, MA 02210-2019, USA, Website: http://www.cabotcorp.com) © Cabot 2016
Paul Ita reviews carbon black data from Fort Worth & Hainan conferences In his regular electronic newsletter, Mr Paul Ita (Founder & Principal of Notch Consulting) recently included reviews of two conferences of great significance for the world carbon black industry. The first was the Carbon Black China conference, held at Haikou (Hainan province) during the second half of March 2016. The event was hosted by the China Carbon Black Institute and featured more than 40 presentations, including nine by staff from the Institute itself. Mr Ita noted: "The papers were quite comprehensive and detailed, with a level of information sharing that would be unusual in a Western conference. There is an assumption that if a Chinese company determines a better way to do something, then it has an obligation to share its findings.'' Mr Ita presented the keynote address on the global industry's future prospects. Other foreign speakers who gave presentations in the opening session included: Dr Soumen Chakraborty (of Himadri Chemicals & Industries Ltd, India) and Mr CP Natarajan (of Ganpads Co, USA). Presentations in subsequent sessions covered product quality and testing, methods for removing iron, heavy metals and other impurities, exhaustgas cleaning and other environmental controls, manufacturing process improvements, heat recovery and energy efficiency, etc. Mr Ita described the general mood as "cautiously optimistic'', noting that China's carbon black industry had a very tough year in
4
ON
PIGMENTS
2015. China's year-on-year carbon black production declined for the first time in 20 years. At just over 5 M tonnes, production was 1.9% lower than in 2014. Exports fell by 13% and domestic demand was essentially flat. Selling prices fell sharply due to both lower feedstock prices and lower energy prices. The industry also faced intensive downward pricing pressures due to weak demand and overcapacity in both the carbon black industry itself and in the Chinese tyre industry. The second conference to be reviewed was the Carbon Black World conference, co-located with the Traction Summit (covering developments in the global tyre industry). The event, held during the last week of May 2016, was hosted by SmithersRapra at Fort Worth, Texas. Mr Ita noted that world carbon black consumption had increased by about 1% in tonnage terms in 2015, but there was a 20% drop in value terms, reflecting lower average prices, which in turn reflected lower hydrocarbon feedstock costs. Indian carbon black consumption increased (in volume terms), but consumption in Brazil and Russia fell. Meanwhile, carbon black demand increased by 3.0-3.5% in both North America and the European Union. However, despite the solid sales volume growth, regional suppliers based in North America and the EU remain under pressure, with reduced plant operating rates and lower realised selling prices caused by an influx of cheaper imports from China and Russia. Looking ahead, Mr Ita said: "We have entered an era from 2015 to 2020 where both North America and the EU will see greater investment in new tyre production capacity than China – a situation that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. The future will be interesting indeed. Speaking of the future, Notch Consulting will publish the new edition of the Carbon Black World Data Book in June 2016. This is our annual report of the state of the global carbon black industry, and the subscription price includes quarterly supply/demand updates through April 2017 as well as monthly carbon black pricing for the US, EU, Brazil, and China. For further information, please write to us at: info @ notchconsulting.com.'' The Data Book typically runs to more than 350 pages, with historical data for the past 10 years and forecasts stretching forward over the next 10 years. Data provided for each country and region include carbon black capacity
by company and plant, capacity utilisation, production, imports, exports, demand, markets (tyres for passenger cars, for trucks/buses and for other sectors, non-tyre rubber and speciality blacks), grades (tread, carcass, and other), as well as market value and average pricing. Original Source: Notch Consulting News, 24 Mar & 30 May 2016 (PO Box 1243, Amherst, MA 01004-1243, USA, Website: http:// notchconsulting.wordpress.com) © Notch Consulting Group 2016
TMR sees global spending on pigments rising at 3.8% per annum to $32 bn by 2023 Transparency Market Research Pvt Ltd (TMR, headquartered in Pune, India, with branch offices in Kolkata and Albany, NY) was founded in 2011 as a market research consultancy and publishing company. It now employs more than 300 people. Since its creation, the company has published more than 1500 multi-client reports on chemicals, materials, mining, energy, food and beverages, consumer goods, media, electronics, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. It has also conducted about 3000 proprietary customised market research studies. Back in 2013, we reviewed TMR's first multi-client report on the global pigments industry – covering all types of organic, inorganic and speciality pigments. (See 'Focus on Pigments', Jun 2013, 3-4). That report ran to 112 pages and was priced at $4595. TMR recently published an expanded and fully updated edition, which is more than treble the size of the first edition and carries a price-tag that is 70% higher, at $7795 for a single-user licence. The new report is divided into ten chapters. Chapter 1 outlines the research scope and methodology. Chapter 2 presents an executive summary of the findings. In Chapter 3, TMR discusses value-chain analysis, legislative constraints, drivers for pigment demand growth (notably the paint and plastics industry), potential restraints on future growth (notably environmental and health considerations) and new opportunities (eg stemming from nanotechnology). Chapter 4 examines the raw material cost basis and pigment price trends. Chapters 5 presents data on individual pigments and pigment types, separately for: TiO2, iron oxides, cadmium, carbon black, chrome, azo, phthalocyanine, quinacridone, metallic, high-performance organics, July 2016