The ICIS titanium dioxide (TiO2) price reports are published weekly as a global report and a CIS report. The global market intelligence gathered by our locally-based reporters, has contract prices for Europe and US and market prices for Asia.
The ICIS report contains price assessments for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Asia and Europe. Market intelligence is shared in the unbiased commentary in the reports and can include, analytics, news, feedstocks moves, regional updates and supply/demand trends. This reliable information can help you to make confident business choices.
Updated to Q4 2020
Asia
Chinese supply was snug in general, with producers citing healthy demand in China. Many said that they did not face any inventory pressure. Despite a slight demand slowdown in China in December, many said they still they had enough orders from the exports market. Some plants were heard running at below regular rates for various reasons in December, but not all were confirmed.
Demand was generally stable in Asia and in China. Chinese domestic demand was said to have slowed down towards the end of the year as cold weather impeded works, thereby dampening demand. Export demand was stable. With prices on the rise, buyers generally took a wait-and-see stance and eventually bought in small volumes. In India, post-Diwali demand was said to be healthy with some renovation works in the country supporting the painting sector.
Europe
The market moved from balanced to snug during Q4 2020, as downstream recovery for affected sectors, import delays and the bullish Asian sentiment led to more domestic sourcing.
Europe consumption bucked the typical low-season trend in Q4, amid downstream recovery, supply security concerns and Brexit stock-build provisions. The tight and bullish Asian sentiment and import delays also triggered more domestic demand within Europe.
US
North America TiO2 supply remained broadly steady during Q4, with producers continuing to pace production rates with unseasonably strong demand that emerged later in the year, mostly from construction markets, which were led by residential builds. Although domestic truck and truck driver shortages persist, pigment delivery times averaged four or fewer weeks, with inventories said to be at 45-60 days supply. Supply into the do-it-yourself (DIY) sector remained strong.
Contrary to typical year-end patterns, Q4 TiO2 demand increased from homebuilding and the much-smaller automobile coatings sectors, while commercial coatings continued to lag. Much of that buying interest was attributed to pent-up demand stemming from previous spring coronavirus lockdowns, which led to the cancellation of construction projects and the temporary shutdowns of most automobile production, and from some restocking for early 2021. A persistent coronavirus kept the do-it-yourself (DIY) paint sector robust.
We offer the following regional Titanium dioxide analysis and news coverage to keep you informed of factors and developments affecting prices in the Titanium dioxide marketplace.
Price reporting
Price history
News & analysis
Regional price assessments, published daily or weekly, enabling you to keep track of trading prices, understand price drivers/fluctuations and set a benchmark for contract price settl ements. ICIS offers reports on over 180 commodities across the global petrochemical, energy and fertilizer markets. Information covered in our price reports includes:
Information is accessed online, via the ICIS dashboard service and is configurable to suit your preferences.
Produced by the ICIS Consulting team, these reports give a robust rolling 12-month price forecast, trade balances and in-depth analysis into where markets are heading – providing a valuable tool to support your short- to medium-term plans.
ICIS pricing intelligence is delivered to you online via the ICIS dashboard. Here you can view your reports and also access other useful services including related news, analysis, historical data and market alerts.
ICIS dashboard also makes it easy for you to create pricing charts, download price history and export data to create tailored analytical models.
ICIS weekly margin reports deliver the detail you need to understand how production costs and prices are affecting margins, enabling you to judge the likely impact on your business and optimise your upstream and downstream business decisions.
Find out more about ICIS margin reports >>
The Supply and Demand Window on the ICIS Dashboard provides a snapshot view of historical and forecast information for supply and demand, production capacity and trade flows – a key tool to help safeguard future investments within the chemicals market.
24-hour global coverage of breaking news in the petrochemical industry, including updates on production, shutdowns and key transacted deals, keeping you informed of market developments as they happen. The ICIS news service allows you to customise the market alerts delivered to your email inbox, providing the business-critical information you need straightaway.
If you want to keep updated on the factors driving price movements in the global chemical markets, ICIS Chemical Business provides a summary of the information you need to support your business decisions. Every week, our global team of experts digests and summarises the key issues and their potential impact on the market – all in one magazine.
An expert view of supply and demand comprising four fully-reconciled databases, giving you access to extensive data for more than 100 markets. Information is included on global and regional trade flows, production, capacity and sources of demand in the short-, medium- and long-term. Data can be downloaded, customised and queried to support your planning requirements and your strategic decisions.
ICIS provides specialist training courses across the global petrochemicals, base oils and fertilizers industries. Our training team of industry experts can help you increase your knowledge of the industry and gain the insight and know-how needed to operate and trade effectively.
Find out more about ICIS training courses >>
ICIS produces a series of highly informative and timely conferences. Extensive research is carried out to ensure that each programme delivers the information you need and addresses current industry issues. We source speakers who have the appropriate expertise and experience to deliver excellent quality papers.
Find out more about ICIS conferences >>
Working closely with you to understand your strategies, challenges and ambitions, the ICIS consulting team deliver tailored advice and solutions to suit your unique requirements. With many years’ experience of guiding business leadership teams, we show you how market conditions can make a positive or negative impact on your long-term plans.
ICIS expert consultants can provide your organisation with the insight, intelligence and data needed to build and grow your business in China. We can help you to gain a clear view on the short and long-term supply and demand picture in the chemicals, energy, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals and paper and pulp markets in China.
ICIS price assessments are based on information gathered from a wide cross-section of the market, comprising consumers, producers, traders and distributors from more than 250 reporters world-wide. Confirmed deals, verified by both buyer and seller, provide the foundation of our price assessments.
Our in-depth market knowledge drives our specialist focus, as we recognise the importance of individual market dynamics and not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Over 25 years of reporting on key chemicals markets, including Titanium dioxide, has brought global recognition of our methodology as being unbiased, authoritative and rigorous in preserving our editorial integrity. Our global network of reporters in Houston, London, Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Perth and Moscow ensures unrivalled coverage of established and emerging markets.
Titanium Dioxide is a pigment marketed in rutile or anatase crystalline forms. Rutile grade is the main driver, with 90% of the market compared with 10% for anatase grade.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) occurs as odourless, colourless to white crystalline powder in two forms, anatase and rutile. Titanium dioxide is not flammable, explosive and gives no reason to fire risks.
The main use of TiO2 is as a white powder pigment used in products such as paints, coatings, plastics, paper, inks, fibres, food and cosmetics. Titanium dioxide also has good ultraviolet (UV) light resistance properties and is seeing growing demand in photocatalysts.
It is used in products such as paints and coatings, including glazes and enamels, plastics, paper, inks, fibres, foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In particular, high performance grades of TiO2 are finding a growing market in the cosmetics sector and most toothpastes use TiO2.
Titanium dioxide is produced from either ilmenite, rutile or titanium slag. Titanium pigment is extracted by using either sulphuric acid (sulphate process) or chlorine (chloride route). The sulphate process employs simpler technology while the chloride route produces a purer product.
NEW YORK (ICIS)--The proposed $2tr US infrastructure plan would massively boost spending to build and upgrade the country’s transportation, housing, automotive and communications systems, giving a...
ReadBARCELONA (ICIS)--Hydrogen could play a key role in lowering the chemical industry’s carbon footprint thanks to use of renewable energy and carbon storage. Hydrogen could become important for low...
ReadHOUSTON (ICIS)--The return of jobs in the US commercial construction sector has not kept pace with overall employment growth, prompting a trade group to say that federal measures are needed to stem...
ReadNEW YORK (ICIS)--US-based start-up Origin Materials can offer customers stable pricing for a key portion of the polyethylene (PET) value chain, its co-CEO said. Origin Materials’s process uses pulp...
ReadThe near-term North America titanium dioxide (TiO2) landscape will be dotted with signs of change – some anticipated, others perhaps not.
Among the ones to watch: