2024 China polycarbonate (PC) industry annual hot spots and events
1. The prosperity of the domestic PC industry continued to improve, and the device capacity utilization rate and output reached a record high
In 2024, with the further promotion of the production time of most domestic PC devices and the significant reduction of new capacity, coupled with the centralized expansion cycle of upstream raw materials, and the continuous improvement of the integration level of the industrial chain, China's PC industry continues to operate profitably, the device capacity utilization rate and output double climb to a record high, and the industry development enters a more stable development stage. The business climate continues to improve significantly over last year.
According to statistics, from January to October 2024, the average capacity utilization rate of the domestic PC industry was 75.55%, a year-on-year increase of 7.28%, and the output was about 2.53 million tons, an increase of more than 19 percentage points. At the same time, the industry continues to maintain good and reasonable profits, with an average profit of 436 yuan/ton from January to October, which is strongly compared with the sustained losses of upstream phenol ketone and bisphenol A, and is the best product for the profit chain.
2. Sichuan Tianhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. acquired "Sichuan Blue Country Plastic new Material Technology Co., LTD.", in early February, the enterprise made a new appearance
The original "Sichuan Zhonglan Guo-Plastic New Material Technology Co., LTD." 100,000 tons/year non-phosgene PC device has been put into production since 2019, due to poor market conditions, in the few years after production, the enterprise operation has been tested, and phased start-stop has almost become the norm. On November 7, 2023, Lutianhua issued a listed company announcement: due to the product and market less than expected, raw material costs continued to rise, etc., serious difficulties occurred in operation and management, in order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of shareholders, the shareholders' meeting of China Blue Country Plastics resolved to independently dissolve China Blue Country Plastics and orderly liquidation. On November 9, Sichuan Zhonglan Guoplastic PC device parking entered the liquidation stage, after the listing auction, was acquired by Sichuan Tianhua Chemical Group Co., LTD. After the device equity was finalized, it entered nearly a month of maintenance, and restarted in early February 2024, PC products returned to the market with a new enterprise.
3. Hengli Petrochemical 260,000 tons/year PC device put into operation, to fill the PC supply gap in the northeast region
In April 2024, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co., Ltd. put into operation 260,000 tons/year PC plant, becoming the first PC plant in Northeast China, which also adopts non-phosgene production process and supports 480,000 tons/year bisphenol A plant upstream. At this point, the Northeast has become the sixth PC production region in China, and the domestic PC production units have reached 17 sets, with a total production capacity of 3.74 million tons/year.
Since 2018, the domestic PC industry has ushered in a period of centralized capacity expansion, and production devices have blossomed everywhere. In addition to East China, PC devices have emerged in Southwest, Central, North and South China, and the production of PC devices by Hengli Petrochemical has filled the gap in PC supply in Northeast China. Considering the geographical location of Northeast China and the rarity of downstream consumer industries, The production of the device will intensify the cross-flow of domestic regional supplies, in addition to the North and East China market will also form a significant impact.
4. Announcement No. 13 of 2024 of the Ministry of Commerce, Announcement on the Final Ruling of the Anti-dumping Investigation on Imports of Polycarbonate Originating in Taiwan
On April 19, 2024, the Ministry of Commerce issued Announcement No. 13 of 2024, which finally ruled that the investigated product was subject to dumping, causing substantial damage to the polycarbonate industry in mainland China, and there was a causal relationship between dumping and substantial damage. According to Article 38 of the Anti Dumping Regulations, the Ministry of Commerce proposed to the Tariff Commission of the State Council to impose anti-dumping duties. Based on the proposal of the Ministry of Commerce, the Tariff Commission of the State Council made a decision to impose anti-dumping duties on the investigated product from April 20, 2024, and impose anti-dumping tax rates ranging from 9% to 22.4% on Taiwan companies. The implementation period for imposing anti-dumping duties on the investigated product is 5 years from April 20, 2024.
On August 14, 2023, the Ministry of Commerce issued a preliminary ruling announcement, determining that polycarbonate originating from Taiwan was being dumped. It was decided to impose a deposit of 16.9% -22.4% on polycarbonate products from Taiwan starting from the 15th. Starting from September 2023, the month after the implementation of the temporary anti-dumping measures, the import volume of PC from mainland China to Taiwan significantly decreased. From January to September 2024, the import volume of PC from mainland China to Taiwan was only 116900 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 42%.
5. the domestic PC export volume to a new level, Shandong Province led the main force of domestic PC exports
In recent years, with the continuous improvement of PC localization and overcapacity, domestic PC exports have continued to grow, with an average export volume of over 300000 tons in the past three years. In 2024, the competition in the domestic PC market has become increasingly fierce, and many domestic PC factories are actively exploring and developing overseas markets. Domestic PC exports have further increased, with a cumulative export volume of 354200 tons from January to September, an increase of 29.74% compared to the same period last year. Among them, the export volume surged to 45400 tons in March, with a year-on-year increase of 8.61% and 56.55% respectively, setting a record for the highest monthly export in history. As the largest PC production province in China, Shandong Province has seen a rapid increase in PC export volume in recent years, and has now steadily risen to become the second largest PC export registration place in China, with the gap with the first place Shanghai city continuously narrowing.
From 2023 to present, the average monthly export volume of PC in China is 34100 tons, of which the average monthly export volume in Shandong Province is 8700 tons. The cumulative export volume from January to September this year reached 84300 tons, accounting for 24%. Based on the current situation of PC supply in Shandong Province and the overseas export situation of major production enterprises, it is expected that there will still be significant growth potential in the future.
6. Cangzhou Dahua polycarbonate (PC) products successfully obtained the EU REACH certification
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Cangzhou Dahua completed the EU REACH regulation certification of polycarbonate (PC) products, and the first batch of 51 tons of PC products were sent to Europe, marking that Cangzhou Dahua PC products meet the European safety and environmental standards and have the EU market access qualification, laying a solid foundation for enterprises to expand the global market. At the same time, it also has a positive impact on the global influence of China's PC industry chain. In the next three years, Cangzhou Dahua will launch long-term procurement cooperation with Sinochem International's overseas companies, accelerate the market expansion of the company's PC products in Europe, promote the internationalization of the brand, and enhance the international competitiveness of China's PC industry chain.
REACH certification refers to the registration, evaluation, licensing, and restriction of chemicals, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals is a regulation in the European Union for the preventive management of all chemicals entering its market, which was officially implemented on June 1, 2007. The successful certification of Cangzhou Dahua not only proves the quality and safety of its products, but also marks the comprehensive ability of the enterprise to provide better products and services for domestic and foreign customers.
7. Zhangzhou Qimei Chemical Co., LTD. 180,000 tons/year PC device was put into production in November, and domestic PC foreign-funded enterprises added new members
In November 2024, Zhangzhou Chi Mei 180,000 tons/year PC device was put to test. Since then, the number of PC manufacturers in East China has reached 9, the number of domestic and foreign-funded PC manufacturers has increased from 3 to 4, and the total production capacity of China's PC industry has reached 3.97 million tons/year, an increase of 15.74% over 2024.
It is reported that Zhangzhou Chi Mei PC production plant is located in Fujian Zhangzhou Gulei Petrochemical base overall development planning petrochemical industry zone, the use of German EPC non-phosgen production process package, the construction of a 180,000 tons/year PC production line, the total investment of the project is about 2.85 billion yuan.
8. Shengsio plans to exit the polycarbonate business and close the German plant
On March 15, 2024, the company announced the possible closure of the polycarbonate (PC) production site in Stade, Germany, and initiated a consultation process with the works council of its subsidiary, the German company, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
It is reported that 40% of the production capacity of the Stade factory is supplied to the downstream of the company's PC industry chain, while the rest is sold externally. Shengxiao is expected to seek approval from the board of directors after the labor management committee negotiation process to close the PC factory by the end of this year. If this agreement is reached, it means Shengxiao will withdraw from its original PC production business and will fully acquire PCs through external procurement for its downstream business in the future. According to statistics, Shengxiao has a PC production capacity of 160000 tons per year in Germany, making it the second largest PC manufacturer in Germany, second only to Covestro.
The Stade plant is the second polycarbonate plant to close in Europe in three months. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) closed one of its two polycarbonate production lines in Cartagena, Spain, at the end of 2023, citing difficult market conditions, a move that halved SABIC's polycarbonate capacity in Cartagena from 260,000 tonnes per year to 130,000 tonnes per year. Since 2010, the world has 685,000 tons of PC/year out of production capacity, involving Asia, North America, Western Europe three major PC producers, six major PC manufacturers.
Source: Chain Plastic Network
