Due to the impact of the global economic slowdown and increased trade frictions, the automotive industry has been under tremendous pressure in the past two years. At the beginning of 2020, the new coronary pneumonia epidemic continued to spread in more than 200 countries and regions around the world. People's travel was restricted, the demand for automobile consumption shrank, and the production of factories stopped. The automobile industry suffered an unprecedented impact.
Massive automotive chemicals affected
New Chemical Materials
Polyurethane and polycarbonate are the bulk of new automotive materials. Under the influence of automobile lightweighting, chemical giants pay special attention to the application and promotion of these two materials in the automotive field.
The application of polyurethane materials in automobiles, from interiors to exteriors, from soft to hard, from foamed to non-foamed, from light to dense, all have small implications. According to statistics, in the North American automotive plastics market, polypropylene materials dominate, accounting for 35% of the automotive plastics market, followed by polyurethane (PU) materials, with a proportion of 17%. At the same time, polyurethane coatings also play an important role in automobiles.
The automotive sector is one of the major downstream markets for polycarbonate. It is widely used in automotive lighting systems and automotive interior and exterior trim, and its application in new energy vehicles also highlights its advantages. The application of Chinese polycarbonate in the automotive sector accounts for about 16%, and from a global perspective, this data is 18%.
Automotive lubricants
Automotive lubricants are divided into mineral lubricants, synthetic lubricants, semi-synthetic lubricants and other categories. Generally, PAO (Poly Alpha Olefin, polya olefin) contained in lubricating oil is called synthetic engine oil. Fully synthetic motor oil is based on 100% PAO (PolyAlpha Olefin) and base additives.
Sanitation events still inhibit economic activity. Small and medium-sized lubricating oil factories purchase raw materials based on terminal demand and sales volume. The oil recovery cycle has been extended from previous years. Some large-scale factories resumed the original procurement cycle and stabilized purchases on a weekly or monthly basis.
Car tire
The main components of most automobile tire materials are natural rubber or synthetic rubber, and the most widely used are natural rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, etc. Natural rubber's comprehensive performance is superior to synthetic rubber, so high-grade tires often use natural rubber. In order for rubber to have the properties required for making tires, it is necessary to infiltrate various chemical materials, ie chemical additives, into the rubber. One of the very important additives added is carbon black, because carbon has a special adsorption, and the adhesion of carbon particles to rubber molecules is very good, which makes the rubber enhance the hardness, strength and wear resistance. Because carbon black and rubber are basically equal, the main material of the car tire is actually a composite material of rubber and carbon black.
The number of tires produced by Chinese tire companies accounts for about 34% of the global total, while exports account for 45%. Under the epidemic situation, the export of tire companies is everywhere. The previous tire orders have either been canceled or on the road to cancellation, most companies have lowered the operating rate.
Automotive coatings
The automotive coating market is mainly divided into two parts, the new automotive coating market and the repair coating market. The subdivision can be divided into original paint, repair paint, parts coating and other coatings, and the proportion of each subdivided automotive paint is 44%, 26%, 18% and 12%. Among them, the original car paint still occupies a large proportion.
The data shows that China's paint production in January-February 2020 was about 1.5 million tons, a significant year-on-year decline (Note: The paint production in January-March 2019 was 3.86 million tons). The listed paint company also ushered in one of the most dismal earnings season. From Sankeshu, Yashichuang Energy, to companies such as Jinlitai, Feilu, Guangxin Materials, Huayi Refining, whether they are architectural coatings or industrial coatings-based companies, the first quarter of 2020 Profits have declined.
