About Ink Materials - Resin Market

As with most of the basic raw materials for the ink industry last year, resin costs have skyrocketed. The rise in the prices of some key materials from base stocks to acrylics has made resin companies have no choice but to increase prices for ink manufacturers. Despite the slight increase in prices, profits continued to decline. Not only are the prices concerned, but some key ingredients are not only expensive but also have shortages. There will be no good news on the price side. The supply problem has eased, but the situation is still difficult to grasp in the future? The high cost of raw materials, the shortage of key ingredients, and the tightening of profit margins are as severe for ink and resin manufacturers.

Situation in 2004: The mild recovery of the ink industry in 2004 brought some good news. At least, the sales volume of resin manufacturers increased. However, due to high-priced raw materials, profits were still damaged.

The entire ink industry has been a challenge for the past 12 months. Although the printing and processing business has been steady, the unexpected increase in the price and raw material costs has affected the profits of various manufacturers. The increase in pigments, solvents, monomer costs, and energy and transportation costs have affected various manufacturers. UV curable inks have experienced a difficult period in 2004 due to shortage of raw materials.

Acrylic acid is the main material, and some local competitors have pulled out of the market and caused supply shortages. A similar situation also occurred in water-based resin products, styrene and acrylate prices and acrylic acid soared, all esters in the third quarter of last year there was a shortage. Many resin suppliers are forced to adopt a raw material distribution system for their old customers. They do not accept new customers, and the soaring prices of raw materials have forced a price increase on their products.

This year we continued to experience difficulties in raw material price hikes. However, the supply situation has clearly been stable and there has been no shortage similar to last year. We expect prices to stabilize. The market growth in 2005 was between 4% and 6%, and some technology needs are growing. New technologies can be developed to expand the range of products into new areas and markets.

Transfer costs: Resin manufacturers face price increases for all raw materials and inevitably transfer some costs. Of course, resin material suppliers cannot compensate all costs. Last year, the resin manufacturer proposed several price increases to the industry and successfully implemented new prices. Regrettably, the price increase that the resin makers are striving to secure is not a rise in petroleum raw materials. The industry’s profits have remained meager for years. The ability to cost less and less. The factory is making every effort to reduce costs, and years of cost reductions and process improvements have exhausted the cost space. In the past 12 to 18 months, the cost of raw materials for resin manufacturers has increased by 60% to 70%. In 2005, due to the rising prices of raw materials, transportation, and energy, resin manufacturers can only compensate for part of the cost increase through higher prices. For resin manufacturers, in order to invest in research and development, price increases are important.

Resin manufacturers can only transfer the increased costs to the ink industry. Of course, this supply situation has been communicated and understood. The price increase is usually not immediately accepted, but the actual market situation can eventually allow the ink factory to agree that the ink price is also corresponding. rise.

Responding to challenges: The key lies in profitability, and resin makers are striving to improve theory. Continuous profit improvement consumes almost all of the resources. Resin manufacturers are continuing to invest in technical work, but most of the efforts are to reduce costs. They need to expand the technology platform to new areas to stop the price erosion of the graphic arts industry.

Profits are the most serious challenges facing the resin industry. Ink companies are also undergoing major changes to improve their profitability. As industry partners, they must understand their respective challenges and work together to maintain their viability. It is necessary to work closely together to develop lower-cost product solutions to ease the pain of raw material price rises on the market. Their challenge is to reduce costs while maintaining the inherent quality, stability, and performance of the products.

Ink companies are also raising their prices, many ink companies began to shift the pressure of rising raw materials, and they expect to receive full industry support. Especially in the field of heat curing. The price increase in the ink industry is clearly forming, and good news for resin suppliers.

Supply bottlenecks: Supply has always been a concern, and the news in 2005 has been very good. Resin manufacturers have full confidence in their supply capacity and customer growth. Since last fall, they have taken strategic steps to ensure the global supply of strategic raw materials, allowing customers to know that they can rely on the resin manufacturer's ability to obtain raw material supply. Due to the cost pressures faced by various manufacturers, resin manufacturers think that the first thing to do is to pay close attention to the shortage of raw materials and availability. Guarantee uninterrupted supply to customers.

Acrylic acid, the most commonly used raw material, was extremely short last year. Some suppliers added force majeure clauses or announced the use of the distribution system because of strong demand, sudden out-of-stock and insufficient capacity. This leads to an overall shortage of resin supply. In addition to acid raw materials, the supply of alcohols and other raw materials is tight and costly. Raw material costs have been slightly loosened this year, and all acrylic resin products have seen pressure from the supply point of view, but they have not reached the point of influencing procurement costs.

There is ample supply of resin raw materials currently used to manufacture products, and the future focus is on the value of these raw materials in fuel blends. Some suppliers see the higher value brought by the gasoline market and shift their product lines to this market. As gasoline prices are expected to increase, other finishers may evaluate the value of these products to find the best return on assets. As the industry needs resin manufacturers to show manufacturers hydrocarbons industry is a dynamic strategic partner.

Source of information: pack.cn