After entering June, the sales situation of the ceramic industry took a sharp turn, and many production areas began to suspend kilns and reduce production. Recently, "Ceramic Information" conducted a survey on the start-up and shutdown of production lines in Jiangxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Fujian, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Guangxi, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Anhui, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Heilongjiang, Heilongjiang and Liaoning. summary statistics.
According to incomplete statistics, more than 200 production lines in the above-mentioned ceramic production areas have been shut down, mainly due to multiple factors such as excessive cost growth, weak market, summer power cuts and environmental protection.
Among the categories that have been discontinued, tile products top the list, and more production lines for porcelain tiles, exterior wall tiles, and glazed tiles have also been discontinued.
A summary of kiln shutdowns in 19 provinces and cities
The kiln shutdown rate in most production areas exceeds 10%
Since June, some companies in the pan-Gao'an production areas (Gao'an, Yifeng, and Shanggao), which account for nearly 70% of Jiangxi's production capacity, have begun to shut down kilns due to dual pressures on sales and costs.
Up to now, more than 20 kilns of ceramic tile production lines have been stopped in the Pan-Gao'an production area in Jiangxi (Gao'an has more than 160 production lines, excluding Siwa). The types of stopped kilns are mainly 800×800mm glazed tiles, polished tiles and Antique bricks, porcelain tiles, etc.
It is understood that the main factors causing ceramic enterprises in high-security production areas to suspend kilns are excessive production costs and high inventory pressure. Most of the manufacturers that have stopped kilns have 2-3 production lines and stop 1 line; those with 3-4 or more production lines choose to stop 1-2.
In the Shandong production areas, a total of 15 production lines are currently suspended, and the discontinued production lines are mainly distributed in the Linyi and Zibo production areas. According to the latest statistics, Linyi currently has 35 production lines and Zibo has 80 production lines. The production suspension rate exceeds 10%. The main reasons for the suspension of production are poor sales and increased inventory pressure.
There are 186 ceramic production lines in the Sichuan production area (including west tiles and small green tiles). "Ceramic Information" learned from suppliers and ceramic companies that currently there are roughly 50 production lines suspended in Sichuan production areas (most of the suspended production lines are Xiwa). The main reasons are the off-season market and environmental protection. Some companies said: "Recently, market sales have been weak, and the overall production and sales rate is less than 70%."
There are 38 production lines in the Yunnan production area, and about 12 production lines are currently suspended. The main reasons for the suspension include poor sales, high inventory pressure, power cuts, the impact of the epidemic, blocked exports, rising raw material prices, and high costs.
The three major provinces of Henan, Hebei and Shanxi have a total of 227 ceramic production lines. Currently, a total of 43 production lines in the three provinces are suspended. The main reason for the suspension of production is that entering JuneSince then, the cost of raw materials has skyrocketed coupled with declining sales, and some companies have been on the verge of liquidation.
Many ceramic companies told "Ceramic Information": "The current production and sales rate is only 70%, and the inventory pressure is high."
There are currently 44 production lines in Teng County, Guangxi, of which 18 production lines have been suspended. The main reason for the suspension of production was power rationing, followed by market weakness and kiln renovation. The production suspension time is: 9 production lines were stopped in early July, and another 9 production lines were stopped on the evening of July 14 due to power cuts.
In 2021, there are about 400 construction ceramics production lines in normal operation in Fujian Province. According to incomplete statistics, more than 40 production lines are currently suspended, and more production lines are planned to be suspended.
There are 49 ceramic production lines in Anhui Province, including 14 ceramic tiles and 35 ceramic tiles. At present, 20 production lines have been suspended in the province, including 4-5 for ceramic tiles and about 15 for Xiwa and Qingwa. The reason for the suspension of production is that overall sales are sluggish and Siwa has a serious oversupply.
There are 41 ceramic production lines in the three provinces and cities of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, including 21 ceramic tiles and 20 west tiles and green tiles. Up to now, 5 production lines have been suspended. The reason for the suspension is "increased costs and poor sales."
There are a total of 50 production lines in Guizhou and Chongqing, including 33 ceramic tiles and 17 Xiwa. Currently, 5 production lines have been discontinued. The reasons for the suspension of production are "excessive inventory, planned production conversion, and equipment maintenance."
Compared with surrounding production areas such as Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Hubei, the overall scale of the Hunan production area is small. The discontinued companies are mainly concentrated in the Yueyang area. The single-line production capacity of the companies is generally around 20,000 square meters. In addition, there are many connections with a large number of companies. With OEM cooperation, sales pressure is relatively small. At present, not many ceramic tile production lines have been stopped, mainly in the Siwa category.
There are currently a total of 82 ceramic production lines in normal operation in the three northeastern provinces, and 6 production lines have been suspended. Most of them are concentrated in the Jianping production area, Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. The reasons for the suspension are firstly the slowdown in sales, and another factor is the local The intensity of environmental protection inspections continues to increase.
As the largest ceramic production base in Northeast China, the overall performance of Liaoning Faku Production Area is stable. Of the 55 production lines that have been built, 48 are actually started. However, the price war is in full swing, especially for floor tile products. Prices have continued to rise in the past two months. decline.
Ceramic companies have suspended production of "three mountains":
Surge in costs, stagnant sales, and power cuts
"Ceramic Information" learned that, on the whole, the current main factors forcing ceramic companies to suspend production are the "three big mountains": various types of productsThe sharp increase in the cost, sharp increase in sales pressure in the off-season, and power rationing.
Recently, the price of natural gas has skyrocketed again in many production areas across the country, reaching a new high in summer (for details, see: 4.3 yuan/m³! Natural gas prices in many production areas have "skyrocketed", and some ceramic factories have reduced production and suspended kilns). Ceramic enterprises The pressure rose sharply again.
Not only have gas and coal prices risen, but the fluctuations in raw material prices since this year cannot be underestimated. The prices of raw materials such as zirconium silicate, strontium carbonate, and non-ferrous metals have increased significantly.
“Since this year, the price of raw materials has increased by 20-30 yuan per ton, but the price of ceramic tiles has not risen.” A person in charge of a ceramics company in Zibo, Shandong who did not want to be named said frankly, “The main reason is that bricks cannot be sold. Now When anyone mentions the price increase for ceramic tiles, customers immediately run away.”
If the business of ceramic factories is booming from the beginning of the year to May, there is still profit support. After June, the national ceramic tile sales situation declined sharply, and the price war intensified, which directly forced the suspension of many production lines. According to "Ceramic Information", the current production and sales rate of a large number of ceramic enterprises across the country is less than 70%, and the production and sales rate of some categories is even less than 50%.
In addition, in production areas such as Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan, power cuts have also caused many ceramic factories to suspend production.
An industry insider in Guiping, Guangxi revealed: "Starting from the end of July, Guiping Ceramics Factory was directly required to have a power outage for more than ten days, and more than a dozen kilns were directly stopped. This has a great impact on the ceramics factory."
Although Fujian natural gas prices have not been raised yet, a large number of production lines have been suspended. It is understood that Quanzhou, Fujian Province, as the largest exterior wall tile production base in the country, currently has more than 100 exterior wall tile production lines in normal operation, but many inventories have been liquidated, and the production suspension rate of exterior wall tile production lines exceeds 20%, and are still in operation. There are production lines that have been shut down.
“Exterior wall tiles originally had a profit of more than 1 yuan. After the cost increased sharply, the profit was gone, and even if they were not done well, they would lose money.” The person in charge of a large ceramic company in Nan’an, Quanzhou told “Ceramic Information” that currently, Fujian Many exterior wall tile production lines in Fujian are being renovated and planned to switch to other products, and the price war for Fujian's strong products such as floor paving stones and wood grain tiles is also fierce.
Not only exterior wall tiles, "Ceramic Information" learned that interior wall tiles in major production areas across the country are also facing pressure from liquidation. The production and sales of other floor tile categories are also unsatisfactory.
"Our current production is okay and our orders are okay, but the cost cannot be sustained. If the price of natural gas continues to rise like this, we will consider shutting down the kiln. It would be better not to produce, but we will still lose money in production." Zhaoqing, Guangdong The production manager of a ceramics company said helplessly.
(This article is reproduced from Ceramic Information)
