Raw material supply presents "new changes" Increased uncertainty in the rubber industry

The entire industry chain of global tires is undergoing tremendous changes. The development of the industry faces great challenges. This has also caused various problems in the development of China's rubber tire industry, including: “non-environmental production” in China and the national government. The contradiction of "strong environmental protection policy" poses risks for international tire companies; China's high-performance rubber additives lack enthusiasm and creativity, lack of strong competitive brands; China's shortage of soluble styrene-butadiene rubber production capacity; China's renewable plant raw materials Lagging in the tire industry and so on.

Uncertainty in the rubber industry

At present, the uncertainty in the rubber industry is increasing substantially for the following reasons.

First, raw material supply and price issues. In 2009, the price of natural rubber was very high, and then the price was still not improved until now. This was due to the entry of hot money, which led to huge fluctuations in natural rubber prices.

Second, uncertain economic development prospects. This is mainly due to the economic crisis in Europe and the United States and the weakness of the domestic economy.

Third, government regulations. The European REACH Act, the labeling law and the domestic environmental issues in China will impose high requirements on rubber products and production processes. The Chinese rubber industry must also make adjustments to meet these regulations.

Fourth, the standards that must be followed. Different countries will introduce different standards and regulations, which will bring some uncertainty to the development of the rubber industry.

Fifth, the growing demand from customers for green environmental protection. Tire is the industry with the largest amount of rubber consumption, while the development of green tires is also increasing the environmental protection requirements for raw materials. Therefore, the demand for green and environmentally friendly rubber chemicals is increasing.

In addition, the rubber industry is eager for new process technologies. The new process technology includes production process technology, automation technology, etc. to save time and labor costs. Experienced human resources are becoming more and more aged. There are fewer and fewer experienced engineers in the company. These people have also left the company with a wealth of experience and knowledge. Therefore, the development of the industry is facing great challenges. The global rubber industry needs a batch of “rubber wisdom”.

Tire raw material prices "game"

Because tire production is highly dependent on oil, the price of oil is characterized by "gameplay." The consortium or the state’s purposeful control of oil prices has caused oil prices to rise or fall more sharply, causing the prices of carbon black, paraffin wax, softeners, accelerators and other products downstream of oil to fluctuate. In addition, natural rubber also has a strong financial nature, and the price fluctuates greatly. All of these have brought a lot of uncertainty to tire companies and are not conducive to the development of the industry.

The data shows that 57% of the raw materials for tire production are from petroleum, and natural rubber accounts for more than 20% of the total raw materials. It can be seen that more than 77% of the raw material prices in the tire production are fluctuating. This feature restricts the development of tire companies, so reducing or getting rid of dependence on oil is an inevitable trend in the development of the tire industry.

Tire raw material supply presents "new changes"

First, the supply of natural rubber depends on agricultural cultivation. The "gamification" of its prices will damage the confidence of the rubber farmers and will also accelerate the tire industry's search for alternative products. Butadiene is an important monomer for styrene-butadiene rubber and butadiene-butadiene rubber. It originates from petroleum cracking light oil, and the development of natural gas and shale oil is constantly replacing petroleum cracking, which leads to a sharp decline in butadiene production.

Second, environmental protection regulations and the "Labeling Law" are new opportunities for the development of highly dispersed white carbon blacks. New processing aids and new vulcanization systems have to change along with it, thus creating new opportunities for the development of auxiliaries. In addition, the widespread application of silica will hinder the further development of carbon black. Therefore, it is recommended that companies do not blindly add carbon black production capacity. In the future, China's semi-steel tires will be tagged. This will also lead to a corresponding reduction in the amount of carbon black used and a doubling of the amount of white carbon.

The tire raw material supply and the development of tire manufacturing technology affect each other. As people's awareness of environmental protection increases, energy conservation, environmental protection, and cost savings are gradually becoming the development direction of tire technology.