Recent market overview of Titanium Dioxide 2021

Asia

Supply in China has been persistently tight since the middle of 2020 and remains so in Q1 2021. Producers said they had been trying to clear a large backlog of orders in Q1, albeit without much success. Shipments were delayed as a result, causing some panic buying and exacerbating the tight supply situation.

Demand was generally stable, but tight supply meant that certain buyers were sitting on low inventories, which prompted them to be more active in the spot market. Many buyers had to accept higher prices in order to secure material. As such, they preferred to purchase in lower volumes to defray rising costs. Demand slowed slightly by end-March, after spot prices of Chinese cargoes caught up with contract prices, which were mainly for products from the west.

Europe

The market tightened during Q1, amid unseasonably high buying activity, which depleted stock levels. Uncompetitive Asian imports and shipping constraints led to increased domestic supply pressures. 

Demand was unseasonably high in Q1, which is typically low season for the main downstream paints sector. This followed an atypically strong Q4. Buying activity was elevated across sectors in Q1, due to increased domestic sourcing, compared with import sourcing, and rebounding downstream markets. 

US

North America TiO2 supply remained broadly steady during Q1 amid unseasonably strong demand, some of which was attributed to pre-buying ahead of potential price increases in Q2. Delivery lead times remain consistent and typical at 45-60 days. Concerns persist among some regional paint makers that tight supply of key paint components, including resins and colourants, might limit spring paint production, but supply of those materials appeared to be easing as the quarter ended.

Q1 demand continued to increase on healthy buying interest from the predominant architectural coatings market despite some mid-quarter slowdowns in construction and the smaller automotive market for TiO2, which were caused at least partially by petrochemical outages forced by a mid-February winter storm. Month-on-month housing starts were down in February, as were sales of existing homes and new single-family homes. Demand from the automobile coatings sector also was stymied by a global shortage of semiconductors.