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TiO2 prices up by 7–9% in 2H 2010, poised for similar rises in early 2011
FOCUS
MARKETS Sachtleben raises barium hydroxide prices by 15% worldwide Effective 1 January 2011, Sachtleben Chemie will be raising prices worldwide for all grades of barium hydroxide monohydrate and octahydrate products by 15%. The company explained that the price rise is intended to partially offset continuing cost increases for raw materials and high global demand. Barium hydroxide is mainly used for making stabilisers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It is also used as an additive for phenolic resins and other thermoplastics. It is also used for making other barium compounds, for fusing silicates and in sugar refining. At this stage, no announcements have been made regarding possible price changes for barium sulfate, blanc fixe, lithopone or any other barium pigment. Press Release from: Sachtleben Chemie GmbH, Postfach 170454, D-47184 Duisburg, Germany. Website: http://www.sachtleben.de (16 Nov 2010)
TiO2 prices up by 7-9% in 2H 2010, poised for similar rises in early 2011 We last reviewed regional TiO2 pigment prices in ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2010, 4-5. By that time, all the major multinational suppliers had posted price rises for the final quarter of 2010, with effective implementation dates variously cited as the beginning, middle and end of September. Since then, most of the major suppliers have announced new regional pricing schedules, due to come into force on 1 January 2011. Huntsman led off on 8 November 2010, with increases posted for Europe (both dollar and Euro accounts), the US, Canada, the Asia/Pacific region, the Middle East and Latin America. Kronos declared its New Year price increases for each of the regions on 15 November. Cristal did so on 25 November and Tronox did so on 29 November. So far, DuPont has only posted New Year price increases for the Asia/Pacific region. Customers in Europe, North America and other parts of the world are still waiting to see whether, and to what extent, DuPont might participate in the next round of price setting.
DECEMBER 2010
ON
PIGMENTS
In Europe, realised selling prices had increased from €2300-2450 per tonne in early July 2010 to €24502650 per tonne by mid-November 2010. Over the same timeframe, the US dollar had weakened against the Euro, with the Euro being worth $1.35 in mid-November, compared against $1.25 in early July. The converted price ranges were therefore $28753060 for early July and $3310-3580 per tonne for mid-November 2010. So, the price rise over the second half of the year was 16% in US dollar terms, but only 7.4% in terms of local currency. For the New Year, Huntsman’s price increases are quoted as €150 per tonne and $200 per tonne. Cristal’s price increases are identical. Tronox has posted a €175 per tonne rise for customers paying in Euros, but its price rise for customers paying in US dollars is only $200 per tonne, in line with the Huntsman and Cristal postings. Kronos has been more bullish, declaring price rises for European markets ranging from €200 per tonne to €250 per tonne, depending on product grade. If all these price rises are fully implemented, then during 1Q 2011 European customers can expect to be paying at least €26002850 per tonne for their TiO2 pigment, with some Kronos grades priced at up to €2900 per tonne. Assuming an exchange rate of $1.30 per Euro, the price range would be $3380-3770 per tonne. In most Asia/Pacific markets, customers were typically paying $2670-2900 per tonne at the beginning of July 2010, according to ‘Industrial Minerals.’ The prices quoted by ICIS were about 6% lower than this. According to ICIS, TiO2 pigment prices for Asia/Pacific rose from $2535-2600 per tonne in midMay to $2550-2700 per tonne at the end of July. They carried on rising over the next four months to reach $2700-2800 per tonne by midNovember 2010. So, the price rise over the second half of the year was 7.1% in US dollar terms. For the New Year, Huntsman declared a price rise of $150 per tonne for Asia/Pacific markets. But all four of its major competitors, who made announcements later than Huntsman, declared price rises of $200 per tonne. For the US market, ICIS was quoting a price range of $1.17-1.34
per pound (equivalent to $2580-2955 per tonne) in mid-May 2010 and $1.22-1.39 per pound (equivalent to $2690-3065 per tonne) in mid-August 2010. In mid-November, the same reference source was quoting $1.301.44 per pound (equivalent to $28653175 per tonne). ICIS reported that North American contract prices for TiO2 increased, mainly as a result of “better than expected demand and continued supply constraints, stemming from depleted inventories going right back to the beginning of 2010.” Suppliers were said to be running their plants at full capacity rates, though perhaps surprisingly, ICIS omitted mention of the unscheduled outage at Cristal’s Ashtabula plant, which must have caused a production shortfall of nearly 9000 tonnes in October. (See also this issue of ‘Focus on Pigments’, 6). Delivery lead times have remained at 45-60 days throughout most of this year. The price rise during the second half of 2010 was 9.2% in US dollar terms. For the New Year, Huntsman’s opening declaration was subsequently trumped by three of its more bullish rivals, though DuPont (the market leader in the US) has so far stayed its hand. On 8 November, Huntsman posted a price rise of $0.08 per pound for the US market and C$0.08 per pound for the Canadian market. Kronos and Tronox posted price rises of $0.10 per pound. Cristal also posted a price rise of $0.10 per pound, applicable for most pigment grades, but it posted a price rise of $0.12 per pound for its Tiona-188 grade (mainly destined for applications in the plastics sector). Assuming the latest posted price hikes are actually implemented in full, North American customers can expect to be paying at least $1.38-1.54 per pound for their TiO2 pigment during 1Q 2011, with some customers paying a $0.02 per pound premium to secure supplies of Tiona-188. This price range is equivalent to $3040-3395 per tonne. Kronos Worldwide, Dallas, TX 75240, USA (15 Nov 2010) & DuPont Titanium Technologies, Wilmington, DE 19880-0036, USA (23 Nov 2010) & Tronox, Oklahoma City, OK 73102-7109, USA (29 Oct 2010) & Cristal Global, Hunt Valley, MD 21030, USA & Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (25 Oct 2010) & Huntsman Pigments, The Woodlands, TX, USA & Billingham, UK (8 Nov 2010) & ICIS Chemical Intelligence, 22 Nov 2010 (Website: http://www.icis.com)
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MARKETS Sachtleben raises barium hydroxide prices by 15% worldwide Effective 1 January 2011, Sachtleben Chemie will be raising prices worldwide for all grades of barium hydroxide monohydrate and octahydrate products by 15%. The company explained that the price rise is intended to partially offset continuing cost increases for raw materials and high global demand. Barium hydroxide is mainly used for making stabilisers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It is also used as an additive for phenolic resins and other thermoplastics. It is also used for making other barium compounds, for fusing silicates and in sugar refining. At this stage, no announcements have been made regarding possible price changes for barium sulfate, blanc fixe, lithopone or any other barium pigment. Press Release from: Sachtleben Chemie GmbH, Postfach 170454, D-47184 Duisburg, Germany. Website: http://www.sachtleben.de (16 Nov 2010)
TiO2 prices up by 7-9% in 2H 2010, poised for similar rises in early 2011 We last reviewed regional TiO2 pigment prices in ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2010, 4-5. By that time, all the major multinational suppliers had posted price rises for the final quarter of 2010, with effective implementation dates variously cited as the beginning, middle and end of September. Since then, most of the major suppliers have announced new regional pricing schedules, due to come into force on 1 January 2011. Huntsman led off on 8 November 2010, with increases posted for Europe (both dollar and Euro accounts), the US, Canada, the Asia/Pacific region, the Middle East and Latin America. Kronos declared its New Year price increases for each of the regions on 15 November. Cristal did so on 25 November and Tronox did so on 29 November. So far, DuPont has only posted New Year price increases for the Asia/Pacific region. Customers in Europe, North America and other parts of the world are still waiting to see whether, and to what extent, DuPont might participate in the next round of price setting.
DECEMBER 2010
ON
PIGMENTS
In Europe, realised selling prices had increased from €2300-2450 per tonne in early July 2010 to €24502650 per tonne by mid-November 2010. Over the same timeframe, the US dollar had weakened against the Euro, with the Euro being worth $1.35 in mid-November, compared against $1.25 in early July. The converted price ranges were therefore $28753060 for early July and $3310-3580 per tonne for mid-November 2010. So, the price rise over the second half of the year was 16% in US dollar terms, but only 7.4% in terms of local currency. For the New Year, Huntsman’s price increases are quoted as €150 per tonne and $200 per tonne. Cristal’s price increases are identical. Tronox has posted a €175 per tonne rise for customers paying in Euros, but its price rise for customers paying in US dollars is only $200 per tonne, in line with the Huntsman and Cristal postings. Kronos has been more bullish, declaring price rises for European markets ranging from €200 per tonne to €250 per tonne, depending on product grade. If all these price rises are fully implemented, then during 1Q 2011 European customers can expect to be paying at least €26002850 per tonne for their TiO2 pigment, with some Kronos grades priced at up to €2900 per tonne. Assuming an exchange rate of $1.30 per Euro, the price range would be $3380-3770 per tonne. In most Asia/Pacific markets, customers were typically paying $2670-2900 per tonne at the beginning of July 2010, according to ‘Industrial Minerals.’ The prices quoted by ICIS were about 6% lower than this. According to ICIS, TiO2 pigment prices for Asia/Pacific rose from $2535-2600 per tonne in midMay to $2550-2700 per tonne at the end of July. They carried on rising over the next four months to reach $2700-2800 per tonne by midNovember 2010. So, the price rise over the second half of the year was 7.1% in US dollar terms. For the New Year, Huntsman declared a price rise of $150 per tonne for Asia/Pacific markets. But all four of its major competitors, who made announcements later than Huntsman, declared price rises of $200 per tonne. For the US market, ICIS was quoting a price range of $1.17-1.34
per pound (equivalent to $2580-2955 per tonne) in mid-May 2010 and $1.22-1.39 per pound (equivalent to $2690-3065 per tonne) in mid-August 2010. In mid-November, the same reference source was quoting $1.301.44 per pound (equivalent to $28653175 per tonne). ICIS reported that North American contract prices for TiO2 increased, mainly as a result of “better than expected demand and continued supply constraints, stemming from depleted inventories going right back to the beginning of 2010.” Suppliers were said to be running their plants at full capacity rates, though perhaps surprisingly, ICIS omitted mention of the unscheduled outage at Cristal’s Ashtabula plant, which must have caused a production shortfall of nearly 9000 tonnes in October. (See also this issue of ‘Focus on Pigments’, 6). Delivery lead times have remained at 45-60 days throughout most of this year. The price rise during the second half of 2010 was 9.2% in US dollar terms. For the New Year, Huntsman’s opening declaration was subsequently trumped by three of its more bullish rivals, though DuPont (the market leader in the US) has so far stayed its hand. On 8 November, Huntsman posted a price rise of $0.08 per pound for the US market and C$0.08 per pound for the Canadian market. Kronos and Tronox posted price rises of $0.10 per pound. Cristal also posted a price rise of $0.10 per pound, applicable for most pigment grades, but it posted a price rise of $0.12 per pound for its Tiona-188 grade (mainly destined for applications in the plastics sector). Assuming the latest posted price hikes are actually implemented in full, North American customers can expect to be paying at least $1.38-1.54 per pound for their TiO2 pigment during 1Q 2011, with some customers paying a $0.02 per pound premium to secure supplies of Tiona-188. This price range is equivalent to $3040-3395 per tonne. Kronos Worldwide, Dallas, TX 75240, USA (15 Nov 2010) & DuPont Titanium Technologies, Wilmington, DE 19880-0036, USA (23 Nov 2010) & Tronox, Oklahoma City, OK 73102-7109, USA (29 Oct 2010) & Cristal Global, Hunt Valley, MD 21030, USA & Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (25 Oct 2010) & Huntsman Pigments, The Woodlands, TX, USA & Billingham, UK (8 Nov 2010) & ICIS Chemical Intelligence, 22 Nov 2010 (Website: http://www.icis.com)
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