In 2024, China's titanium dioxide market as a whole showed a downward trend, experiencing two trends of "rise and fall" throughout the year. The price at the end of the year declined compared with that at the beginning of the year. The price of rutile titanium dioxide dropped by about 1,200 yuan per ton compared with the beginning of the year, with a decline rate of 7.69%. The price of anatase titanium dioxide dropped by about 600 yuan per ton compared with the beginning of the year, with a decline rate of 4.34%. By the end of the year, the tax-included ex-factory price of China's rutile titanium dioxide was between 14,100 and 15,400 yuan per ton, and the tax-included ex-factory price of anatase titanium dioxide was between 13,100 and 13,600 yuan per ton. The high point of the market price in the whole year appeared in March, with the monthly average price being 16,950 yuan per ton. The low point of the market price currently appeared in October, with the monthly average price being 14,776 yuan per ton. In 2024, the titanium dioxide market maintained a downward trend, and its price decreased compared with that in 2023.
The first stage - the rising stage: From January to March, the price of titanium dioxide continued to rise, with a cumulative increase of about 1,500 yuan per ton. Entering 2024, the market continued the downward trend at the end of 2023. In January, the price stopped falling and rebounded. From February to March, the market continued its upward trend. The main reasons for the price increase are as follows:
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In January, enterprises in the market carried out maintenance one after another, and manufacturers consumed relatively large amounts of inventory.
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Under the influence of the demand for stocking up before the Spring Festival, the number of orders to be delivered in the market increased.
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From January to February, some titanium dioxide manufacturers carried out maintenance on their production facilities during the Spring Festival, and the market operating rate slightly declined.
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The prices of raw materials such as titanium ore and sulfuric acid rose, increasing the cost of titanium dioxide.
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The export market of titanium dioxide remained good, and the prices of titanium dioxide enterprises of international giants were raised. Coupled with the leading increase by leading enterprises, the titanium dioxide market witnessed three consecutive rises, and the price increased steadily.
The second stage - the falling stage: From April to June, the price of titanium dioxide showed a weak downward trend, with a cumulative decline of 1,500 - 1,800 yuan per ton. Due to the impact of terminal demand, the market was rather chaotic in April, and enterprises faced great pressure in shipping goods. Starting from the end of April, some manufacturers began to lower their prices by 300 - 500 yuan per ton. From May to June, the price continued to decline. With sluggish demand and the blocked export market, some individual enterprises started to cut production in May. At the beginning of June, the listed price of leading enterprises was reduced by 1,300 yuan per ton. Since the prices of other enterprises had been continuously adjusted from April to May, the price adjustment range in June was mostly 500 yuan per ton. The market orders were weak and the cost of raw materials was relatively high. Starting from June, enterprises successively took measures to cut production to maintain prices, and the price of titanium dioxide remained stable but on a weakening trend.
The third stage - the weak consolidation stage: From July to August, the price of titanium dioxide was in a weak consolidation state. Due to the reduction in supply caused by manufacturers' maintenance, the overall export market was relatively good. Moreover, in July, leading enterprises implemented a policy of offering discounts of 100 - 300 yuan per ton to dealers who completed their task volumes. In July, the new orders of titanium dioxide enterprises increased significantly, and some enterprises controlled order acceptance at the end of the month. Entering August, the number of orders accepted by enterprises decreased compared with that in July. In addition, many enterprises that had planned maintenance earlier postponed it, and the inventories of some manufacturers showed an increasing trend. The prices of some individual products in the market were reduced by 100 - 200 yuan per ton, and the prices of some orders from July to August weakened to some extent.
The fourth stage - the falling stage: From September to October, the price of titanium dioxide continued to decline, with a cumulative drop of about 500 yuan per ton. The traditionally busy season of "Golden September and Silver October" was not prosperous, and the market sentiment for stocking up was sluggish. At the end of August, the prices of some manufacturers began to be reduced by 100 - 300 yuan per ton. In September, affected by the high temperature in the southwest region, the downstream enterprises had insufficient operating rates. In addition, due to the impact of environmental inspections and other factors, some titanium dioxide enterprises began to carry out maintenance. In October, the pressure on market shipments remained relatively high, inventories increased. Moreover, the anti-dumping tax rate for exports increased. Although leading enterprises offered a preferential policy of giving a rebate of 200 yuan per ton to dealers who completed their task volumes, other enterprises did not follow this price adjustment. This was mainly due to the pressure of production costs, the decline in the market operating rate caused by environmental inspections, and the fall in the cost of raw materials, so the titanium dioxide market continued to weaken.
From November to December, the market entered the traditional off-season. With the expectation of shutdowns of downstream enterprises in the north and the weakening of the export market, the pressure on shipments in the titanium dioxide market remained relatively high. Market participants were generally bearish on the future market. However, due to production restrictions on environmental protection enterprises and cost support, the decline range of the market price might be limited.
In 2024, the price of China's titanium dioxide market remained generally weak while showing a continuous downward trend. The output continued to increase compared with that of last year, and the market still had excess production capacity. Affected by the slowdown of the global economic growth rate, the operation of the titanium dioxide market was somewhat weak. In 2025, the domestic economy will still face relatively high operating pressure. In 2024, the domestic output of titanium dioxide increased steadily, and the newly added production capacity will be released in 2025. Therefore, titanium dioxide manufacturers will still face relatively large pressure in 2025.
1 Analysis of the Titanium Dioxide Price Index
According to the data monitoring by Tootoo, the trend of China's titanium dioxide price index in 2024 showed a downward trend while remaining relatively stable. The whole market in the year could be divided into two trends of rising and falling. The highest point in the year was in April, with the price index reaching 16,804.28. The lowest point so far in the year was in October, with the price index at 15,157.99. In 2024, due to the poor overall economic situation and the continuous increase in the production capacity of the titanium dioxide market, the market presented a situation where supply exceeded demand. After experiencing a price increase in the first half of the year, the price continued to decline subsequently. As can be seen from the following chart, the price index in 2024 was quickly approaching the lowest point position of the titanium dioxide market in 2022.
2 China's Titanium Dioxide Production Capacity in 2024
According to the statistics of Tootoo, China's titanium dioxide production capacity was 6.117 million tons in 2024. Compared with 2023, the growth rate of production capacity was 11.08%. The regions with increased production capacity were mainly Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Sichuan, etc. In 2024, among the top three regions in China in terms of production capacity, Sichuan accounted for 19%, Shandong accounted for 14%, and Henan accounted for 11%.
3 Analysis of Titanium Dioxide Output in 2024
According to the data statistics of Tootoo, from January to September 2024, China's titanium dioxide output was 3.5817 million tons, an increase of 18.09% compared with the same period of last year, with an output increase of about 548,600 tons. It is expected that the annual titanium dioxide output in 2024 will reach 4.8 million tons. In 2024, the main enterprises releasing newly added production capacity in the titanium dioxide market included Inner Mongolia Guocheng, Guangxi Youcan, CNNC Baiyin, etc. This year, the monthly output has seen different growth rates compared with that of last year. Among them, the output in March was the highest throughout the year. In January and February, part of the newly added production capacity had not been released. Coupled with the influence of factory maintenance during the Spring Festival holiday and other factors, the output from March to September remained at a high level. Affected by the market, the output in the fourth quarter may decrease compared with that in the previous period.
In terms of the comparison of regional titanium dioxide output from 2023 to 2024, the regional output of titanium dioxide has witnessed different degrees of increase this year. Sichuan ranked first in terms of output increment, with an output increase of 91,900 tons year-on-year, an increase rate of 13.91%. Hubei saw an increment of 120,300 tons, with an increase rate of 79.82%. Guangxi had an increment of 59,900 tons, with a relatively obvious increase rate of 27.90%. Next year, new production capacities in regions such as Yunnan, Anhui, and Inner Mongolia will be put into operation and released, and the output of titanium dioxide will continue to increase.
4 Proportion of Titanium Dioxide Production Processes in 2023
As industries and environmental protection policies have become stricter, higher requirements have been put forward for the production and energy consumption of titanium dioxide. The production processes of titanium dioxide mainly include the sulfuric acid process and the chlorination process. Compared with the traditional sulfuric acid process for titanium dioxide production, the chlorination process has advantages such as a shorter process flow, larger production capacity, energy conservation, and environmental protection. Under the development trend of low-carbon cycle, the chlorination process has become the mainstream production process for titanium dioxide. Domestic plans for newly added chlorination process production capacity have gradually increased, and the share of chlorination process titanium dioxide in the industry market has gradually expanded. In 2024, the output of chlorination process titanium dioxide accounted for 14% of the total output of titanium dioxide.
5 Operating Rate of the Titanium Dioxide Market in 2024
The operating rate of the titanium dioxide market remained at a high level in 2024. Among them, the high point of the operating rate within the year was in March, with an operating rate of 91%. Currently, the low point of the operating rate within the year was in August, with an operating rate of 81%. The average operating rate of the titanium dioxide industry throughout the year was 85%.
4.5 Average Import and Export Prices of Titanium Dioxide in 2024
From January to September 2024, the average import price of titanium dioxide was US$3,328.17 per ton. Compared with US$3,539.40 per ton in the same period of last year, it decreased by 5.97% year-on-year. From January to September 2024, the average monthly export price of titanium dioxide was US$2,222.55 per ton. Compared with US$2,183.09 per ton in the same period of last year, it increased by 1.81% year-on-year.
6 Apparent Consumption of Titanium Dioxide in 2024
According to the data from Tootoo, from January to September 2024, China's apparent consumption of titanium dioxide was 2.2134 million tons. Compared with 1.8346 million tons in the same period of last year, the year-on-year increase rate was 20.65%, and the domestic consumption increased by approximately 378,800 tons.
