Raw material prices are running at high levels, and the development of the coatings industry faces challenges

Coating is a viscous fluid state or powder state substance that is applied to the surface of objects using different construction techniques. It is dried and solidified by natural or artificial methods to form a layer of solid film that adheres firmly, has a certain strength, and is continuous. It plays decoration, marking, protection and other special functions on the painted objects. Modern paints are different from traditional paints. Most of them have broken away from the tradition of using vegetable oil as a film-forming substance. Currently, their main components are synthetic resins. According to different functions, coatings can be divided into decorative coatings, anti-corrosion coatings, conductive coatings, anti-rust coatings, fire retardant coatings and waterproof coatings.

According to the “2022-2027 China Coatings Industry Comprehensive Market Research and Investment Analysis Report released by the Industrial Research Center, the economy is developing rapidly It has led to the improvement of consumers’ living standards and the continuous increase in housing purchasing power, which has led to an increasingly strong demand for home decoration. Paints have gradually taken a dominant position in the home decoration market. However, affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the overall number of loss-making companies and the amount of losses in the coatings industry have shown a rapid upward trend, and revenue has also declined. The overall operation of the industry is more difficult, and it will not start to gradually pick up until 2021. According to statistics from the China Coatings Industry Association, my country’s coatings operating revenue reached 305.43 billion yuan in 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 2.8%. In 2021, my country’s coatings operating revenue is expected to exceed 460.00 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of approximately 16.0%.

The raw materials of coatings include film-forming substances, pigments and fillers, solvents and additives. Among them, film-forming substances are the basic components of coatings and play a decisive role in the main properties of coatings. Film-forming substances mainly include two types: conversion film-forming substances and non-conversion film-forming substances. Transformational film-forming substances refer to changes in composition and structure during the film-forming process, including dry oils, natural paints, etc.; non-transformation film-forming substances refer to compositions and structures that do not change during the film-forming process and have characteristics such as thermoplasticity and solubility. Including natural resin, chlorinated rubber, etc. Coatings are highly dependent on raw material products. In recent years, the prices of raw materials have continued to remain high, affecting the balance of supply and demand. This is a major challenge facing the coatings industry.

With the continuous improvement of health awareness, environmentally friendly coatings are gradually favored by consumers. The “14th Five-Year Plan” for China’s coatings industry, compiled by the China Coatings Industry Association in 2021, clearly states that it is necessary to gradually increase the proportion of environmentally friendly coatings products and achieve high-quality development of the industry.

Industry analysts said that due to the demand of the home decoration market, coatings are favored by many consumers as a material that protects and decorates objects. . However, in recent years, affected by the epidemic and other factors, the prices of my country’s coating raw materials have continued to rise, changing the balance of market supply and demand, and even causing price shortages. This is a major problem faced by my country’s coatings industry. With the gradual recovery of the economy and the improvement of health concepts, environmentally friendly coatings will gain broad market prospects as a coating segment product.