Recently, according to CCTV financial reports, natural gas, which was once cheap, has recently become the "price increaser" of commodities. Asia has soared 6 times in the past year, and Europe has soared 10 times in 14 months. In many countries, consumers and businesses alike are feeling the pressure from skyrocketing natural gas prices.
It is precisely because of the skyrocketing price of natural gas that there have been continuous calls for price increases for ceramic tiles in major production areas across the country this year. Starting from August 25, more than a dozen ceramic factories in Linyi, Shandong Province have raised product prices, covering categories such as porcelain tiles and glazed tiles. As for the reason for the price increase, many ceramic companies stated in the price increase notice that "it is mainly due to the increase in natural gas prices."
In mid-to-early August, many ceramic companies in Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Shanxi and other production areas also announced "increases in ceramic tile prices" (for details, see: "The costs can no longer be afforded!" Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangxi, Guangxi Another round of ceramic tile price increases).
According to incomplete statistics from "Ceramic Information", since August, at least more than 70 price increase letters from ceramic factories have been circulated in WeChat Moments. At the same time, many industry insiders believe that the sales market will gradually pick up in September, corporate inventories will decrease, and more ceramic factories may join the ranks of price increases.
On August 24, due to the increase in natural gas prices, ceramic enterprises in Linyi production area issued price adjustment notices and raised the price of ceramic tiles on August 25. From the price adjustment notices issued by various ceramic companies, it can be seen that the price of the entire series of 300x300mm porcelain tiles has increased by 0.05 yuan, the entire series of 300x600mm porcelain tiles has increased by 0.1 yuan, the entire series of 400x800mm porcelain tiles has increased by 0.2 yuan, and the entire series of 800x800mm polished glazed products has increased by 0.5 yuan. The mid-plate price has not been adjusted this time.
Notice on price increase of some Linyi ceramics
According to "Ceramic Information", as of August 24, except for a few ceramic companies such as Yizhou Construction Ceramics, most Linyi ceramic companies have issued price adjustment notices. This price increase first started on August 23, and laterMany ceramic companies followed up on August 24. So far, more than 10 ceramic companies, including Linyi General Ceramics, Jinchang Ceramics, Chengyu Ceramics, Shunhui Ceramics, and Renxuan Ceramics, have issued price increase notices.
This price increase is mainly affected by the increase in gas prices, which has led to a sharp increase in the operating costs of various ceramic companies. Therefore, price increases have become the main way for Linyi ceramics companies to cope with rising costs. For ceramic enterprises that have not yet raised prices, price increases will only happen one day sooner or later.
"Since the heating season this year, the price of natural gas has increased three times, by about 0.7-0.8 yuan per cubic meter. If the price of ceramic tiles does not increase, the ceramic factory really cannot hold on. At present, we have not increased the price. However, the price increase has only happened in the past few days," said the person in charge of Yizhou Construction Ceramics Enterprise.
It is understood that due to the impact of upstream portal costs, natural gas prices have been raised in various places this year. Compared with the same period last year, the current natural gas prices in various places are significantly higher than last year, which has greatly increased the operating pressure of various ceramic companies. In addition, LNG prices have also continued to rise, much higher than the same period last year.
As of August 24, the price of LNG arriving at various ports has approached the 6,000 yuan/ton mark, equivalent to 4.16 yuan per cubic meter. In the same period last year, the lowest LNG price was only 1.6 yuan per cubic meter.
In fact, not only the price of natural gas has skyrocketed, but coal, which has been already highly priced recently, has also experienced a price increase again, with the price once again hitting a record high.
According to relevant news, on August 23, the coal sector broke out collectively. The "three brothers" of coal futures, thermal coal, coking coal, and coking coal, all rose to the limit, and coal stocks soared collectively. In the spot market, from last week to August 24, the thermal coal price of Yulin origin increased from a slight increase to an overall increase, with an average increase of 20-50 yuan/ton, and the price was once close to 1,200 yuan/ton, a record high.
On August 23, the price of coke was raised for the sixth time, by 120 yuan/ton. Currently, all types of metallurgical coal, including coking coal and coke, have risen to historically high prices, and there is still a trend of further increases. In the past two weeks, coke has started a continuous rise mode, with a total of 6 rounds of increases, with a total increase of 720 yuan/ton.
After entering August, as the costs of energy, chemical materials, etc. rose sharply again, around August 20, many ceramic companies in Jiangxi, Hunan, Shanxi and other places once again raised the prices of ceramic tiles. This is the second round of price adjustments this year.
Around August 20, during this round of price increases by ceramic companies in Jiangxi, Hunan, and Shanxi, many ceramic companies said that the main reason was that "coal prices have skyrocketed again or coal prices remain high," causing a significant increase in production costs.
(Article reproduced from Ceramic Information)
