Recently, Ed Sparks, President of Chemo Titanium Technology Department, said that the rebound of demand in China and Europe would lead to the recovery of titanium dioxide market demand in 2023.

 

Sparks said that in the last few months of 2022, downstream enterprises of titanium dioxide began to destock. Kemu expects that the destocking of titanium dioxide downstream will continue until the end of the first quarter of this year, and the market demand should recover in the rest of this year.

 

Compared to four months ago, the sentiment in the European market is becoming more optimistic. Sparks said: "What will drive the improvement of the titanium dioxide market in 2023 will be the normalization of European demand." He also pointed out: "In Asia, China's re opening will not only provide a driving force for the improvement of the titanium dioxide market, but also provide an overall driving force for the global economy. I am very optimistic about China's economic recovery, and have seen signs of a rebound in demand for titanium dioxide, especially through its distributors and partners." Sparks said that in China, Kemu's titanium dioxide is largely used in industrial coatings and architectural coatings. The value chain of industrial coatings is longer, so the recovery of this end market should be evident later this year.

 

As for the North American market, Sparks said: "The sustainability of demand in the North American market is better than that in other regions of the world. This is completely different from what we have seen in Europe and China, where market demand dropped sharply last year. The North American market's demand for titanium dioxide for professional coatings remains strong, but the demand in the plastic market has indeed slowed down."

 

According to data from Freddie Mac, the mortgage interest rate on 30-year housing loans in the United States has started to decline from over 7% in November last year. Previously, the increase in mortgage interest rates led to a decrease in existing home sales, while 80% of building paint sales were related to existing home sales. At present, it is unclear whether this decline in interest rates will translate into an increase in demand for titanium dioxide. Sparks said that the titanium dioxide market is stabilizing due to the insufficient supply of houses for sale in the US market. According to data from the National Association of Real Estate Agents, the current housing supply in the United States was 2.9 months in December last year. When the market has 6 months of supply, the market is in equilibrium.