Report on key raw materials of the hottest ink

Report on key raw materials of ink

under the influence of crude oil prices, the prices of related key raw materials of ink have risen sharply, which makes companies expect to know when and whether the prices will gradually stabilize. Just three years ago, this situation was unimaginable. At that time, the price of crude oil was close to $35 a barrel, which was of great concern to ink companies. However, in the past 36 months, the price of crude oil has been rising without any sign of pause, reaching a peak of $72 a barrel. In response to this situation, experts said that the increase in global demand for crude oil and the instability of the world political situation may make the price of crude oil reach $85 a barrel in the near future. This will bring difficulties to ink manufacturers. After all, petrochemical products are the basis of key raw materials, including resin, wax, varnish, solvent, carbon black and many other ingredients. In addition, the impact of crude oil prices on production and transportation costs is also obvious. In the past, ink companies would do everything possible to offset the increase in costs without raising the price, but the times have changed. Diane Parisi, vice president of procurement at flint North America, said, "About 97% of our raw materials need crude oil for energy supply or actual use. This impact is very huge. Although we have taken some important measures, and it will emit unpleasant smell when heated, such as inventory control, factory integration, assembly line production, etc., to offset the increase in costs, in the past 18 months, we still have to implement the price increase. This shows that we have no choice We need help to continue to bear the cost growth. " Gregory Lawson, the procurement Minister of Sun Chemical, said, "the growth of crude oil prices has always been a great concern. Ink manufacturers often talk about the cost of crude oil, because it is the most important factor, whether direct or indirect. In 2005, we saw the price of $50 per barrel, and this year it reached a peak of $80 per barrel." In addition, the prices of many other key raw materials are also rising significantly. Under such circumstances, ink manufacturers, their suppliers and customers will undoubtedly think about the same question: when and whether the price will stabilize? Raw material conditions, including crude oil products, have little good news for ink manufacturers. Even if the overall supply of raw materials is sufficient, the consumption of raw materials in new applications is leading to a tight supply of ink materials. Mrs. Parisi said, "prices are rising and supply is decreasing. In fact, it is the decrease in supply that leads to the rise in prices. For example, the shortage of kaolin and hydrocarbon resins is due to the growth of production capacity that cannot meet demand. This growth mainly comes from some developing regions, such as Asia (China and India), but also from competitors in other industries." Mrs. Parisi said, "For example, organometallic clay can be used in drilling technology, which was not a big problem before. However, with the increase of drilling demand in oil exploitation, the demand for organometallic clay in this application field will inevitably lead to the reduction of supply in traditional industries. In addition, as a raw material for preparing resins commonly used in inks, the shortage of Tarot oil is due to its use as fuel in paper mills 。” Mr. Lawson also pointed out that it is not just crude oil that affects the cost of ink raw materials. Another concern is rosin resin, which sold at $450-650 per metric ton in 2005, but now the price is $1100-1200 per metric ton. Rosin is used to prepare resin components in many ink formulations, and it has the greatest impact on the thermosetting and sheet fed ink market. In terms of pigments, the price growth is also very significant. Copper, as the raw material for preparing metal inks and phthalocyanine blue pigments, has experienced five increases, from $1500 per metric ton in 2004 to $8200 per metric ton today. As a result, the functional pigment Department of sunchem and heubach company successively increased the quotation of phthalocyanine blue and green pigments. At the same time, the price of aluminum quickly climbed from $1600 per metric ton to about $2800 per metric ton. In addition, the selling prices of some major pigment cake manufacturers increased by about 5%. The price of raw materials needs special attention for ink manufacturers and their suppliers. The prices of these raw materials have not yet returned to the historical average. Scott ravech, business director of UV curing Department of Cytec chemical in North America, said, "the price of key raw materials has changed fundamentally. We are used to the current price, and it seems that we will not return to the historical average." Rick K, the marketing director of the functional chemicals department of BASF's JONCRYL polymer production, gave priority support from the perspective of national strategy. Rause said, "the supply of propylene is still tight, and the current price of benzene is quietly shifting the production of styrene to China, resulting in an increase in the cost of styrene." Mr. Lawson said, "up to 2006, due to the growth of global raw material prices, the prices of all raw materials in the ink industry continued to rise." Mr Krause said, "This summer, we saw the price increase announcement of styrene and various acrylic monomers and polymers in the whole industry, although OPEC said it would prevent the price of crude oil from exceeding $65 per barrel, but the actual situation was more than $75 per barrel. The price of more and more coffee capsules made of recycled PP materials has also risen, as has the price of surfactants. The price of styrene is approaching the highest point in two years 。 The prices of some daily necessities are also rising rapidly. Some special raw material suppliers, such as surfactants, additives and biocides, are still in the stage of recovery from the cost rise of previous years. " Doina Liebreich, the purchasing manager of Sartomer, said, "The tight supply of styrene, ethylene, EO (ethylene oxide), Po (propylene oxide) and past price records have led to the actual price higher than expected. The price of acetone is at a historical high, while the price of phenol is 40% of the previous price. There is a global shortage in the supply of BPA (bisphenol A) and epichlorohydrin, which has affected the supply and price of epoxy products." Mr ravech added, "We have experienced rising costs and supply pressures, mainly from the rise in the price of raw materials and the reduction in supply, including some key raw materials, especially those based on propylene raw materials. Other related factors include: Global tripropylene glycol (TPG) The availability of is reduced; The tight supply of epichlorohydrin and the resulting impact on epoxy resin; And the increase in the cost of benzene products has led to the rise in the price of styrene. " As a result, ink companies and their suppliers have borne higher costs in the past year and expect to improve in the coming year. Daan Rademaker, global purchasing director of Siegwerk, said, "The output of raw materials expanded in 2006, and we expect the same trend in 2007. This situation mainly occurs in solvent and resin products. Due to the application of biofuels, the supply of ethanol in the market is relatively tight at present; the same is true of ethyl acetate, which is the product of some natural disasters in Europe. What we need to pay attention to in the future is naphtha (crude oil) Price trend and its impact on downstream products such as ethylene and propylene; Crude oil and diesel; Natural gum and commonly used metals such as copper, zinc, aluminum, etc. " Rick Westrom, vice president of global strategic sourcing at INX ink, said, "while prices are rising, supply has become tight due to product line constraints." Ron zavodny, procurement director of Wikoff color, said, "in recent months, the price of raw materials has continued to rise, although its speed and range have decreased, and although some suppliers arrange production completely according to the past procurement volume of customers, at present, the supply volume is not a problem." In recent months, the supply of raw materials at the end of 2005 and the beginning of this year has ceased to exist, because the natural disasters at that time led to the reduction of the production capacity of some suppliers. Mr. Lawson said, "at the end of last year, Hurricane Katrina did cause some supply problems, but we never ran out of materials. Then, as now, you can get the raw materials you need, but you have to pay higher and higher prices." at the same time, he also said that many raw material prices that rose all the way last year show no signs of falling, and they seem to be rising. Mr Krause said: "On the whole, the supply of raw materials in the whole industry is relatively stable. Companies in the Gulf Coast region realize the importance of ensuring emergency inventory and formulating plans to deal with accidents such as hurricanes. It is urgent and must be smoothed; supply and demand problems will affect conventional raw materials and lead to tight supply. In addition, intermittent transportation problems and overseas procurement will lead to the extension of delivery time. As long as there are no natural disasters and geographical disasters Political events or large-scale unplanned production, storage and transportation losses, and the supply of raw materials will remain stable in the near future. " Basically, the prices of almost all key raw materials used for inks are on the rise. Mrs. Parisi said, "Most of our high-capacity products, such as naphthenic oils, hydrocarbon resins, solvents and conventional waxes, are derived from petroleum products. Even rosin resins refined from trees, which were not affected by crude oil prices before, are now revalued due to changes in crude oil prices. Recently, we have faced problems about copper and 2,3 acids (Bon acid) The sharp rise in prices, which are the raw materials used to produce blue, green and red pigments. " Mr. zavodny said, "the products with the worst supply stability are those related to the commodity market, such as copper and molybdenum, which are consumed in developing countries such as China." In terms of raw materials with the worst price and supply stability, through discussion with major enterprises in the industry, the answer is that this instability is widespread, and only the severity of this situation needs to be determined. For example, Mr. Westrom talked about the poor stability of hydrocarbon resins, ink solvents and copper containing pigments in recent months, while Mr. Krause believed that the stability of surfactants and styrene materials was worse. Mr. ravech believes that the raw materials extracted from petroleum, especially propylene, ethylene, benzene and epichlorohydrin, have poor stability, while Ms. leibrich mentioned propylene glycol and ethylene glycol