F O C US

increase for Asia/Pacific on 30

November, due to take effect as from
1 December. This was also the fourth
price increase of the year for Tronox,
cumulating to $450 per tonne. Again
DuPont seemed more reluctant than
its competitors to post fresh prices for
customers in the Asia/Pacific region:
its announcement of a $150 per tonne
increase was not made until 3
December and the effective date was
scheduled for 1 January 2010.
Meanwhile, Huntsman made no
further price announcements for
Asia/Pacific after 19 August: its two
posted increases for 2009, scheduled
for the beginning of July and the
beginning of September, cumulated to
only $250 per tonne.
According to ICIS, prices actually
paid by customers were within the
range $2310-2500 per tonne (c&f or cfr,
Asia/Pacific destinations) in midNovember 2009, representing a decline
of nearly 7% compared against the
$2450-2700 range attained in midNovember 2008. In fact, there had
been a sharp fall in Asian TiO2 prices at
the turn of the year 2008/09, followed
by a gradual recovery onwards from 2Q
2009. Reporting on the Asian situation
in August 2009, ICIS stated: Pigment
producers were unable to raise prices
as the financial storm pummelled
downstream industries. With
stabilisation and improvement in the
key economic indicators in mid-2009,
suppliers announced price increases
and said they achieved 75-80% of their
targeted price hikes, although they
noted that major buyers continued to
put up fierce resistance! Between midAugust and mid-November 2009, Asian
TiO2 prices increased by 3.4%, with
persistently declining inventory levels
helping to exert strong upward
pressure on prices.
North American TiO2 pigment
consumption has fallen year-on-year
in every year since 2005 and the
credit crisis has exacerbated an
already difficult situation for the
regions paints and plastics end-use
sectors. Kronos posted the first price
increases of the year for this region,
announcing a $0.04 per pound
increase on 5 May 2009, scheduled to
take effect on supply contracts as
from 1 July 2009. On 15 May, DuPont
posted an increase of $0.02 per
pound, effective 1 August. Within a
week of DuPonts announcement, the
other three leading suppliers followed

JANUARY 2010

O N

PIGMENTS

DuPonts lead. Then on 10 July, Kronos

posted its second increase for North
American customers, this time $0.03
per pound, effective 1 August. In
response, DuPont, Cristal, Huntsman
and Tronox hastily revised their posted
price increases from $0.02 per pound
to $0.05 per pound, effective 1 August.
Meanwhile, Sachtleben matched the
Kronos two-step price increase with a
single-step increase of $0.07 per
pound, effective 1 September.
If all these price attempts had been
fully successful, with no slippage, the
cumulative increase would have been
$0.05-0.07 per pound (equivalent to
$110-154 per tonne) between midNovember 2008 and mid-November
2009. However, ICIS reported North
American TiO2 pigment prices in the
range $1.09-1.19 per pound ($24052620 per tonne) for mid-November
2009, exactly the same range as
quoted 12 months earlier. In its most
recent bulletin, ICIS noted: The
largest buyers in the architectural
coatings sector said that seasonally
slower paint sales, stable energy
costs and few constraints on ilmenite
and other raw material supplies meant
that there was little or no rationale for
4Q 2009 price hikes. Suppliers
production rates have been ratcheted
up again after customer destocking
earlier in the year, keeping price
pressure intact. But by November
2009, some mid-sized buyers were
beginning to acknowledge that
suppliers had finally succeeded in
gaining some of the 5 cents price-hike
proposed in mid-Summer.
Preliminary data from the US
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
shows that the average US market
price for TiO2 pigments was about 4%
lower in November 2009 than in
November 2008. The BLS data is
reported in terms of price indices,
based on the 1982 annual average
price. (See Focus on Pigments, Feb
2009, 1-3). Effectively, the BLS data
series shows the average US price
hovering at around $1.15 per pound
($2535 per tonne) between January
and July 2008, then climbing to a
peak of $1.25 per pound ($2755 per
tonne) in November 2008. As demand
collapsed, the average US price
dropped to $1.07 per pound ($2360
per tonne) in January 2009. From that
low point, it rose to $1.17 per pound
($2580 per tonne) in May 2009, but
then fell back to $1.08 per pound

($2380 per tonne) during quiet August

trading conditions. The average price
was back to $1.12 per pound ($2470
per tonne) in September and then
jumped to $1.20 per pound ($2645
per tonne) in November 2009.
A new wave of price increases for
North American customers was led by
DuPont on 7 December and followed
by Kronos, Tronox and Cristal two
days later. All of them posted a $0.06
per pound increase, scheduled to take
effect as from 1 January 2010. If this
price increase is fully implemented,
the average US price should rise to
$1.26 per pound ($2780 per tonne)
during 1Q 2010.
Meanwhile in Europe, Cristal
initiated a new wave of price increases,
posting a rise of 100 per tonne,
scheduled to take effect as from 1
January 2010. If this price increase is
fully implemented, the average
European price should rise to 22302400 per tonne during 1Q 2010. At
the exchange rates prevailing at endDecember, this would translate to
$3200-3445 per tonne. It is perhaps
surprising that European customers
are expected to pay at least 20%
more for TiO2 pigment than their US
counterparts, who themselves might
be paying at least 15% more than
buyers in the Asia/Pacific region.
Kronos Worldwide, Dallas, TX 75240, USA (26 May,
10 & 17 Jul, 9 & 16 & 25 Sep, 24 Nov & 9 Dec 2009)
& DuPont Titanium Technologies, Wilmington, DE
19880-0036, USA (3 Jun, 22 & 27 Jul, 27 Aug, 23
Sep, 3 & 7 Dec 2009) & Tronox, Oklahoma City, OK
73102-7109, USA (6 Jun, 17 & 27 Jul, 10 & 24 Sep,
30 Nov & 9 Dec 2009) & Cristal Global, Hunt Valley,
MD 21030, USA & Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (17 Jun, 10
& 21 Jul, 24 Aug, 15 & 24 Sep, 18 Nov & 17 Dec
2009) & Huntsman Pigments, The Woodlands, TX,
USA & Billingham, UK (15 & 23 Jul, 19 Aug, 11 & 30
Sep 2009) & Sachtleben, Postfach 170454, D-47184
Duisburg, Germany (4 Aug 2009) & US Bureau of
Labor Statistics, Washington DC 20212-0001, USA,
website: http://www.bls.gov/data & ICIS Chemical
Business, 21 Dec 2009 (Website:
http://icischemicalbusiness.com) & ICIS Chemical
Intelligence, 14 Dec 2009 (Website:
http://www.icis.com/v2/chemicals/9076545/titaniumdioxide/pricing.html)

World demand for organic dyes &

pigments at 2.3 M tonnes by 2013
World expenditure on organic dyes
and pigments is expected to increase
at an average rate of 3.9% per annum,
from $13.4 bn in 2008 to $16.2 bn in
2013, according to a new study by the
Freedonia group (of Cleveland, OH). In
volume terms, the market is forecast to
expand by 3.5% per annum, from 1.9 M

FOCUS
tonnes to 2.3 M tonnes. The textile
industry will continue to be the biggest
end-use sector for organic dyes and
pigments, although faster growth is
expected in sectors such as printing
inks, paints and plastics. The Asia/
Pacific region will account for 50% of
global demand by 2013, compared
against only 37% in 1998.
This study fully updates earlier
Freedonia studies, published in June
2001 and December 2004. Historical
data and forecasts are shown for
1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018,
analysed by product (disperse,
reactive, direct, acid and basic dyes;
azo, phthalocyanine pigments, etc),
by end-use sector and by region. Data
and forecasts for the top 20 national
markets are also shown. Profiles and
market share information are provided
for 39 of the industrys leading
players, including BASF, Clariant and
DIC. The study (reference 2508)
contains 398 pages, costs $5800 in
electronic format and can be ordered
from http://www.freedoniagroup.com.
Paint & Coatings Industry (PCI), Aug 2009, 25 (8), 8

World demand for filler-grade barytes

approaches 1 M tonnes/y
In 2008, world barytes production
reached a new peak of 8.5 M tonnes.
China contributed 58% of this total,
India 12%, the US 7.5% and Morocco
6%. About 80-85% of world
consumption was accounted for by the
oil/gas sector, where barytes is an
important component of drilling muds.
The remaining 10-15% was accounted
for by the manufacture of speciality
barium chemicals and functional fillers,
which are used in paints, rubber and
sound-proofing products. During 2009,
demand from the oil/gas sector
dropped by about 50-60%. Although
demand for barytes as a functional filler
also fell during 2009, the decline was
much less steep.
Steinbock Minerals is one of the
leading suppliers of filler-grade
barytes from China. Its main sources
for the white grades marketed to the
paint and plastics sectors are the
mines at Kaili and Duyun in southern
Guizhou province. Other Chinese
producers mine filler-grade barytes in
Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.
Most of Indias barytes comes from
the Mangampet district in Andhra
Pradesh province. Exports are mainly

ON

PIGMENTS

channelled via the port of Chennai.

Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development
Corp (APMDC), Ashapura and IBC
(formerly India Barytes Co) are the
leading suppliers.
There are several important
suppliers of filler-grade barytes in
Europe, processing indigenous and
imported raw materials. Ankerpoort
(part of the SCR Sibelco group)
supplies white barytes from eight
processing plants, located in the
Benelux region and elsewhere in
Europe. CEBO produces about 10,000
tonnes/y of barytes at Ijmuiden
(Netherlands), most of which is
marketed for sound insulation
applications. Viaton (of Brassington,
Derbyshire in the UK) produces about
50,000 tonnes/y of filler-grade barytes,
of which 80% from its UK plant and
20% from a joint venture operation in
China. There are three barytes mine
operators in Germany Sachtleben
Bergbau, Deutsche Baryt Industrie and
Solvay and a significant portion of
German barytes output is used for
making blanc fixe and lithopone
pigments. Solvay also produces blanc
fixe in Italy. Minerales Girona (of Spain)
is another important supplier of fillergrade barytes. Producers based in
Morocco and Turkey also generate
significant quantities of filler-grade
barytes, some of which is absorbed by
European consumers.
North Americas requirements for
filler-grade barytes are catered for by
foreign and domestic processors,
mostly processing Chinese ore. Anglo
Pacific Minerals (of the UK) normally
sells about 25,000 tonnes/y of
processed barytes to US customers in
the paint and automotive sectors.
Excalibur Minerals (of Houston, TX)
and Cimbar Performance Minerals
(based in Georgia) are the leading
suppliers of barytes for the paint,
plastics, rubber, adhesives and
barium chemical sectors.
Industrial Minerals, Sep 2009, (504), 52-57

Zircon, kaolin & talc in the spotlight at

Qingdao conference
Some of the papers from the Qingdao
conference (7-9 September 2009)
were reviewed in a recent issue of
IM. Mr Murray Lines (of Stratum
Resources) discussed trends in
supply/demand for ceramic raw
materials, noting the particular

importance of consumption in China

and other Asian countries. World
ceramic tile production is currently
estimated at 7.695 bn sq metres, of
which China 38% and India 4%.
China is now a long way ahead of
other tile producing countries,
including Spain (9% of global tile
output), Italy (8%), Brazil (8%) and
Turkey (4%). World sanitaryware
production is currently estimated at
311 M pieces, of which China 28%
and Southeast Asia 13%. Other
significant producing regions include:
Latin America (20%), Middle East &
North Africa (15%) and Western
Europe (14%). World tableware
production is currently estimated at
1.431 M tonnes, of which China 49%,
the rest of Asia 16% and Europe 26%.
Mr Lines noted that Chinas rapidly
growing production in all three sectors
reflects both a flourishing export trade
and booming domestic demand as the
country becomes increasingly
urbanised. Demand for ceramics has
been fairly resilient despite the impact
of the global economic recession and
this supports growing consumption of
zircon, kaolin and various ceramic
pigment minerals.
Mr Alister MacDonald (of Technical
Ceramic Marketing Services, Australia)
discussed the outlook for zircon,
noting that the average price for
Australian bulk zircon (fob Australian
ports) had risen from around $300 per
tonne in mid-2001 to about $900 per
tonne by April 2009. Because of
increased mining costs, lower mine
grades, strong exchange rates and
disappointing returns from co-product
TiO2 feedstocks, the mineral sands
producers are keen to push for still
higher zircon prices. However,
customers in the ceramics industry
and other end-use sectors are equally
keen to minimise their unit zircon
consumption and some of them are
considering substituting zircon with
other materials. China lacks adequate
resources of indigenous zircon and
therefore relies on imports from
Australia, South Africa and elsewhere.
The future strategies of major
Chinese zircon consumers will have a
significant impact on world supply/
demand and prices.
Prof Ming Zhang (of Wuhan
Technology University) spoke about
Chinas requirement for high-grade
kaolin pigments for papermaking,
which is forecast at 1.4 M tonnes for

JANUARY 2010