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White displaces silver as the most popular car colour in Japan & North America while the Europeans prefer black
FOCUS ON P I G M E N T S A MONTHLY REPORT FROM REG ADAMS JULY 2009 In this issue
MARKETS
2-3
API defines criteria for new grade of baryte, with 4.1 SG
PLANTS
3-6
Mondo & Haicheng Beihai form talc JV in Liaoning, China Panzhihua Dongfang opens 40,000 tonne/y TiO2 plant ShengdaTech is building another nano-CaCO3 plant at Zibo Twenty Microns will install GCC capacity in India & Malaysia Himadri joins the ranks of Indian carbon black producers IMI Fabi buys more talc capacity in Sardinia, Italy Imerys makes further cutbacks in UK kaolin operations
COMPANIES
6-7
BASF will save €400 M/y by integrating Ciba’s activities Cromex (of Brazil) foresees 10% rise in masterbatch sales DIC forecasts 15% drop in sales revenue from pigments & inks
EVENTS
PIGMENTS
8
PIGMENTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PIGMENTS SECTOR ISSN 0969–6210
WHITE DISPLACES SILVER AS THE MOST POPULAR CAR COLOUR IN JAPAN & NORTH AMERICA WHILE THE EUROPEANS PREFER BLACK As the world’s largest supplier of automotive paints, DuPont has a natural interest in studying trends in colour preferences evinced by customers for new cars. Better still, it has published its data every year since 1952 in the annual Global Automotive Color Popularity Report (Ref 1). Until recently, colour preferences tended to be fairly uniform in the major market regions. During the 1950s, black was the most popular colour for cars worldwide, while trucks and vans were traditionally red or white. By the 1990s, white had become the leading colour, particularly in North America and Europe. In 1999, on the verge of the new millennium, silver became the most popular colour in all major markets for the first time and silver remained in pole position everywhere for the next seven years. Thus in 2006, 19% of all new cars in North America were painted silver – compared against 16% white, 13% grey and 13% black. Elsewhere, silver was even more preponderant: 28% in Europe; 27% in Japan; 26% in South America; 24% in China; and 21% in South Korea. Silver was described as the ‘hi-tech colour of the future’ and the world of consumer choices seemed as if it really was becoming more flat, ie more similar from one region to another. It would be too tabloid sensationalist to say that those perceptions were blown apart in 2007. But it is certainly true that the data indicates significant shifts in colour preferences, with differing directions of travel in various
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
parts of the world. Silver is no longer the most popular colour for new cars in the major industrialised countries. But whereas white has displaced silver as the most popular colour in Canada, the US and Japan, European customers now prefer black. The popularity of black in Europe had been steadily edging up from 17% of new vehicles in 2004 to 24% in 2006, to 25% in 2007 and to 26% last year. Medium/dark grey has also become markedly more popular in Europe, rising from 11% in 2004 to 18% last year. Meanwhile, white dropped from 8% in 2003 to 4% in 2006, but then bounced back to reach 10% last year. Silver has declined from 30% in 2003 to 20% in 2008. In Japan, silver faded from 37% in 2004 to 22% in 2007, but revived last year, accounting for 28% of all new cars manufactured last year. Black represented 13% of the total in 2004, rising to 19% in 2007, but falling back to 13% in 2008. White – as the colour of choice – has doubled from 16% of the Japanese total in 2004 to 32% in 2008. Perhaps surprisingly, the North American market has been less volatile and the shifts in colour preferences have been more gradual. Silver represented 18% of the North American total in 2004 and it still represented 17% in 2008. But white, which held steady at 16% in 2004 and 2006, took the leading position in 2007 with 19% and edged ahead still further last year, accounting for 20% of
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
FOCUS
ON
PIGMENTS
New Vehicles* Colour Popularity – % of regional totals Black Blue/Turquoise Brown/Beige Green/Olive Grey, medium/dark Red/Pink/Purple Silver White Yellow/Gold Other colours
NAm 17 13 5 3 12 11 17 20 2 0
Braz 25 3 3 2 16 8 31 11 1 0
Mex 20 12 1 2 13 11 17 20 3 1
EU 26 13 4 2 18 7 20 10 0 1
Russ 14 12 2 13 3 14 30 10 2 0
China 31 9 0 2 15 5 32 1 2 3
India 7 8 4 1 4 12 27 28 7 2
Japan 13 7 2 3 7 3 28 32 0 5
Korea 25 2 0 0 3 1 50 18 1 0
*Passenger cars, SUVs, MPVs, people-carriers, light trucks & vans (manufactured in 2008) Source: DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report, 2008
all new cars. Black has also become more popular in North America, rising from 11% in 2004 to 17% in 2008. Black, white, silver and grey may be grouped together as ‘nonchromatic’ finishes, though nowadays these include a variety of pearlescent, colour-variable, liquid metal and other effect finishes. In Europe, within the total of 26% for black in 2008, effect finishes accounted for 22% and solid finishes for 4%. In Japan, within the total of 32% for white, pearlescent finishes accounted for 24% and solid finishes for 8%. Speaking about the ‘Model T’ car in 1909, Mr Henry Ford said: “Any customer can have any car painted any colour he wants, so long as it’s black.” (Ref 2). Nowadays, car purchasers really can have more or less any colour they want – without paying an excessive price premium – but it remains true that chromatic finishes of one sort or another – blues, reds, greens and yellows – are still minority preferences in all parts of the world. In North America, chromatics account for 34% of the total. In the EU, the figure is 27%, while in China and Japan the figures are only 20-21% and in South Korea the incidence of chromatics is as low as 4%. The Russian market shows a higher preference for chromatics than most, with blues, reds and greens each accounting for 12-14% of the total, but even in Russia the non-chromatic finishes (notably silver) account for 54% of the total. There are some interestingly sharp differentials in consumer colour preferences between different countries in the same region. Within Latin America, the Brazilian market is dominated by silver and black (respectively 31% and 25% of the national total), whereas in Mexico white
2
and black are equally popular (at 20% each) and blues and reds are quite prominent. Within Asia, Indian consumers demonstrate more affection for colour (reds at 12%, blues at 8%, yellows at 7%) than their counterparts in other countries. Orange is identified as a colour preference in China (by 3% of the market), but it is not separately identified in any other country. As a sequel to the latest Color Popularity Report, DuPont Daily News recently published an article titled: “Does the recession affect colour choices?” Addressing this question, Prof Peter Weil (of the University of Delaware’s Cultural Anthropology Department) said: “In traditional nonindustrial societies, people have a culturally-learned awareness of only four basic colour ranges – red, blue, black and white. But in industrial societies, we are conditioned to perceive a wider range of colours. All societies assign certain values to particular colours.” These values can differ quite markedly from one society. For example, red is generally considered to be a lucky colour in Japan, but an unlucky colour in many parts of Africa. Green is often considered unlucky in Scotland, Ireland and the US. Yellow is associated with bad luck in Spain. White is the traditional colour for mourning in many Asian cultures and as such has been regarded as an unlucky colour; the same logic applies to black in many Western societies. According to Prof Weil: “Silver, for example, was associated with high status, especially during the post2001 economic boom. But the popularity of silver began to wane about two years ago (coinciding with the first signs of the recession in the US).” He went on to say: “White is
associated with transition. People (in the US) are choosing a more luxurious and durable looking white, not the plain white that they remember as chalking easily and appearing bland and institutional. Colour choice can also be associated with security or risk. In Western Europe, black and grey often appear on expensive cars, signifying security, wealth and risk aversion. On the other hand, young people are more likely to take risks by specifying bright, attention-getting colours for their smaller, less expensive cars.” Reg Adams
1) Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, 2008. Available free of charge from DuPont, Website: http://www.dupontrefinish.eu 2) My Life & Work, 1922, by Henry Ford. Out of copyright and available free of charge as E-Text 7213 from Gutenberg, Website: http://www.gutenberg.org 3) DuPont Daily News, 9 Jul 2009. Published by DuPont, Website: http://www2.dupont.com/ media_center/en_us/daily_news
MARKETS API defines criteria for new grade of baryte, with 4.1 SG Baryte (or natural barium sulfate) has traditionally been an important sulfate extender pigment, with a high resistance to acids, alkalis and other chemicals. In pigment applications, whiteness and low abrasivity are key technical criteria. At a time when paint in certain markets was sold by weight rather than by volume, high-density baryte was a useful ingredient in budget-paint formulations. Nowadays, nearly 80% of the world’s baryte output is used in drilling muds for oil and gas exploration and production.
JULY 2009
MARKETS
2-3
API defines criteria for new grade of baryte, with 4.1 SG
PLANTS
3-6
Mondo & Haicheng Beihai form talc JV in Liaoning, China Panzhihua Dongfang opens 40,000 tonne/y TiO2 plant ShengdaTech is building another nano-CaCO3 plant at Zibo Twenty Microns will install GCC capacity in India & Malaysia Himadri joins the ranks of Indian carbon black producers IMI Fabi buys more talc capacity in Sardinia, Italy Imerys makes further cutbacks in UK kaolin operations
COMPANIES
6-7
BASF will save €400 M/y by integrating Ciba’s activities Cromex (of Brazil) foresees 10% rise in masterbatch sales DIC forecasts 15% drop in sales revenue from pigments & inks
EVENTS
PIGMENTS
8
PIGMENTS
AN INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER MONITORING TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PIGMENTS SECTOR ISSN 0969–6210
WHITE DISPLACES SILVER AS THE MOST POPULAR CAR COLOUR IN JAPAN & NORTH AMERICA WHILE THE EUROPEANS PREFER BLACK As the world’s largest supplier of automotive paints, DuPont has a natural interest in studying trends in colour preferences evinced by customers for new cars. Better still, it has published its data every year since 1952 in the annual Global Automotive Color Popularity Report (Ref 1). Until recently, colour preferences tended to be fairly uniform in the major market regions. During the 1950s, black was the most popular colour for cars worldwide, while trucks and vans were traditionally red or white. By the 1990s, white had become the leading colour, particularly in North America and Europe. In 1999, on the verge of the new millennium, silver became the most popular colour in all major markets for the first time and silver remained in pole position everywhere for the next seven years. Thus in 2006, 19% of all new cars in North America were painted silver – compared against 16% white, 13% grey and 13% black. Elsewhere, silver was even more preponderant: 28% in Europe; 27% in Japan; 26% in South America; 24% in China; and 21% in South Korea. Silver was described as the ‘hi-tech colour of the future’ and the world of consumer choices seemed as if it really was becoming more flat, ie more similar from one region to another. It would be too tabloid sensationalist to say that those perceptions were blown apart in 2007. But it is certainly true that the data indicates significant shifts in colour preferences, with differing directions of travel in various
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
parts of the world. Silver is no longer the most popular colour for new cars in the major industrialised countries. But whereas white has displaced silver as the most popular colour in Canada, the US and Japan, European customers now prefer black. The popularity of black in Europe had been steadily edging up from 17% of new vehicles in 2004 to 24% in 2006, to 25% in 2007 and to 26% last year. Medium/dark grey has also become markedly more popular in Europe, rising from 11% in 2004 to 18% last year. Meanwhile, white dropped from 8% in 2003 to 4% in 2006, but then bounced back to reach 10% last year. Silver has declined from 30% in 2003 to 20% in 2008. In Japan, silver faded from 37% in 2004 to 22% in 2007, but revived last year, accounting for 28% of all new cars manufactured last year. Black represented 13% of the total in 2004, rising to 19% in 2007, but falling back to 13% in 2008. White – as the colour of choice – has doubled from 16% of the Japanese total in 2004 to 32% in 2008. Perhaps surprisingly, the North American market has been less volatile and the shifts in colour preferences have been more gradual. Silver represented 18% of the North American total in 2004 and it still represented 17% in 2008. But white, which held steady at 16% in 2004 and 2006, took the leading position in 2007 with 19% and edged ahead still further last year, accounting for 20% of
PIGMENTS
PIGMENTS
FOCUS
ON
PIGMENTS
New Vehicles* Colour Popularity – % of regional totals Black Blue/Turquoise Brown/Beige Green/Olive Grey, medium/dark Red/Pink/Purple Silver White Yellow/Gold Other colours
NAm 17 13 5 3 12 11 17 20 2 0
Braz 25 3 3 2 16 8 31 11 1 0
Mex 20 12 1 2 13 11 17 20 3 1
EU 26 13 4 2 18 7 20 10 0 1
Russ 14 12 2 13 3 14 30 10 2 0
China 31 9 0 2 15 5 32 1 2 3
India 7 8 4 1 4 12 27 28 7 2
Japan 13 7 2 3 7 3 28 32 0 5
Korea 25 2 0 0 3 1 50 18 1 0
*Passenger cars, SUVs, MPVs, people-carriers, light trucks & vans (manufactured in 2008) Source: DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Report, 2008
all new cars. Black has also become more popular in North America, rising from 11% in 2004 to 17% in 2008. Black, white, silver and grey may be grouped together as ‘nonchromatic’ finishes, though nowadays these include a variety of pearlescent, colour-variable, liquid metal and other effect finishes. In Europe, within the total of 26% for black in 2008, effect finishes accounted for 22% and solid finishes for 4%. In Japan, within the total of 32% for white, pearlescent finishes accounted for 24% and solid finishes for 8%. Speaking about the ‘Model T’ car in 1909, Mr Henry Ford said: “Any customer can have any car painted any colour he wants, so long as it’s black.” (Ref 2). Nowadays, car purchasers really can have more or less any colour they want – without paying an excessive price premium – but it remains true that chromatic finishes of one sort or another – blues, reds, greens and yellows – are still minority preferences in all parts of the world. In North America, chromatics account for 34% of the total. In the EU, the figure is 27%, while in China and Japan the figures are only 20-21% and in South Korea the incidence of chromatics is as low as 4%. The Russian market shows a higher preference for chromatics than most, with blues, reds and greens each accounting for 12-14% of the total, but even in Russia the non-chromatic finishes (notably silver) account for 54% of the total. There are some interestingly sharp differentials in consumer colour preferences between different countries in the same region. Within Latin America, the Brazilian market is dominated by silver and black (respectively 31% and 25% of the national total), whereas in Mexico white
2
and black are equally popular (at 20% each) and blues and reds are quite prominent. Within Asia, Indian consumers demonstrate more affection for colour (reds at 12%, blues at 8%, yellows at 7%) than their counterparts in other countries. Orange is identified as a colour preference in China (by 3% of the market), but it is not separately identified in any other country. As a sequel to the latest Color Popularity Report, DuPont Daily News recently published an article titled: “Does the recession affect colour choices?” Addressing this question, Prof Peter Weil (of the University of Delaware’s Cultural Anthropology Department) said: “In traditional nonindustrial societies, people have a culturally-learned awareness of only four basic colour ranges – red, blue, black and white. But in industrial societies, we are conditioned to perceive a wider range of colours. All societies assign certain values to particular colours.” These values can differ quite markedly from one society. For example, red is generally considered to be a lucky colour in Japan, but an unlucky colour in many parts of Africa. Green is often considered unlucky in Scotland, Ireland and the US. Yellow is associated with bad luck in Spain. White is the traditional colour for mourning in many Asian cultures and as such has been regarded as an unlucky colour; the same logic applies to black in many Western societies. According to Prof Weil: “Silver, for example, was associated with high status, especially during the post2001 economic boom. But the popularity of silver began to wane about two years ago (coinciding with the first signs of the recession in the US).” He went on to say: “White is
associated with transition. People (in the US) are choosing a more luxurious and durable looking white, not the plain white that they remember as chalking easily and appearing bland and institutional. Colour choice can also be associated with security or risk. In Western Europe, black and grey often appear on expensive cars, signifying security, wealth and risk aversion. On the other hand, young people are more likely to take risks by specifying bright, attention-getting colours for their smaller, less expensive cars.” Reg Adams
1) Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, 2008. Available free of charge from DuPont, Website: http://www.dupontrefinish.eu 2) My Life & Work, 1922, by Henry Ford. Out of copyright and available free of charge as E-Text 7213 from Gutenberg, Website: http://www.gutenberg.org 3) DuPont Daily News, 9 Jul 2009. Published by DuPont, Website: http://www2.dupont.com/ media_center/en_us/daily_news
MARKETS API defines criteria for new grade of baryte, with 4.1 SG Baryte (or natural barium sulfate) has traditionally been an important sulfate extender pigment, with a high resistance to acids, alkalis and other chemicals. In pigment applications, whiteness and low abrasivity are key technical criteria. At a time when paint in certain markets was sold by weight rather than by volume, high-density baryte was a useful ingredient in budget-paint formulations. Nowadays, nearly 80% of the world’s baryte output is used in drilling muds for oil and gas exploration and production.
JULY 2009