Aramid application market situation
1. Market situation of meta-aramid
As of the end of 2018, the global production capacity of meta-aramid fiber was about 39,000 tons, more than 50% of which was concentrated in DuPont; my country currently has 2 large-scale production companies of meta-aramid fiber, with an effective production capacity of about 10,000 tons.
The current global production capacity of meta-aramid fiber is about 40,000 tons/year. The global market demand (excluding fiber for papermaking) total terminal consumption is about 27,000 tons, of which the United States is about 10,000 tons and Western European countries are about 9,500 tons, accounting for more than 70% of the market. my country’s meta-aramid fiber consumption is about 5,000- 6000 tons.
Main domestic and foreign meta-aramid fiber manufacturers and their production capacity
In 2018, the global annual demand for meta-aramid fiber is about 40,000 tons, mainly concentrated in developed countries and regions such as Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea; my country’s annual demand is about 6,000 tons, and the annual export volume is about 3,000 tons.
1) The application structure of meta-aramid fiber in my country is low-end
There is a big gap between my country’s downstream application structure of meta-aramid fiber and developed countries. More than 60% of the domestic market is used for relatively low-end high-temperature filter materials, while the international market accounts for a higher proportion of applications in electrical insulation paper, safety protection and other fields. Although my country’s meta-aramid fiber has been successfully developed for use in high-end products such as aramid paper, filament and dyeable fiber, it is still in its infancy. DuPont’s high-end products account for about 80% of its total products, and are used in high-temperature filter materials. Less than 20% fiber. The technical development of high-end meta-aramid products is difficult and the market promotion threshold is high, resulting in an extremely unreasonable structure of domestic meta-aramid varieties.
International meta-aramid downstream application fields
Domestic downstream application fields of meta-aramid fiber
Picture After years of market development, the application of aramid in the domestic personal protection market has been recognized by all parties, and the demand in the fields of industrial protection and police protection has been growing year by year. The national mandatory standards for firefighting uniforms have been implemented, and the improvement of the quality of individual protection and daily training uniforms for other police and military types has also been put on the agenda. According to the white paper “my country’s National Defense in the New Era”, there are about 2 million active military personnel in our country. Assuming that combat suits are equipped with one set each for spring, autumn, summer and winter, the corresponding number is about 6 million sets. With an average of 1kg fiber per set, 60% of them are Calculated for meta-aramid fiber, the corresponding incremental demand for meta-aramid fiber is 3,600 tons. If the demand for training suits is increased taking into account the requirements of “combat training integration”, the corresponding demand will reach 7,200 tons.
Equipment mainly made of meta-aramid has appeared in military parades many times. For example, in the military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the combat training uniforms and strategic strike uniforms of the armed police anti-terrorist assault vehicle formations The camouflage flame-retardant suits of the missile units in the army and the flight suits of the air echelons are all made of fibers such as aramid. At the same time, the national industrial protection market has huge potential. There are about 6 million workers who need special protection such as flame retardancy and high temperature resistance. They are distributed in metallurgy, electric power, geological mining, oil fields, chemical industry and other industries. Meta-aramid is the most in line with national standards. One of the personal protective materials. With the development of social economy, the strengthening of people’s safety, awareness and protection standards, as well as the promotion and practice of the concept of “decent work”, the incremental market size of meta-aramid fiber for protective clothing in my country is considerable.
2) Market price of meta-aramid fiber
In 2009, the price of meta-aramid fiber was as high as 160,000 yuan/ton. With the entry of some low-end domestic production capacity, the market price was impacted, and it once dropped to only about 70,000 yuan/ton. In 2017, two domestic production capacities were withdrawn, leaving only Taihe New Materials and Shengou Group (Chaomeis New Materials) as domestic companies. The meta-aramid industry has rebounded, and the average price has risen to about 120,000 yuan/ton in 2019.
2. Para-aramid market situation
Para-aramid fiber is a typical dual-use material for both military and civilian use. In terms of military use, para-aramid fiber fabric has the performance characteristics of high tensile strength, high elastic modulus and low density, and can quickly absorb and disperse the impact energy of bullets. , to avoid causing “blunt trauma”, so the protective effect is significant. It is known as the “ultimate bulletproof material” and is widely used in personal protective equipment such as body armor, bulletproof helmets, search and detonation clothing, and military and police training uniforms.
As of the end of 2018, the global para-aramid production capacity was approximately 76,000 t/a, mainly concentrated in DuPont and Teijin; my country currently has three large-scale para-aramid production companies, with an effective production capacity of 2,000 t/a. about. The downstream mainly focuses on safety protection, vehicle friction materials, fiber reinforced protection, rubber reinforcement, etc.
In 2018, the global demand for aramid paper was approximately 10,000 tons, and the domestic market demand was approximately 2,300 tons. The main market share was occupied by DuPont.
Para-aramid consumption grows steadily
Global downstream distribution of para-aramid fiber
Domestic para-aramid fiber consumption and downstream distribution�The environmental protection situation is the main reason for the tight supply of raw materials. Especially after the “3·21” accident, the number of m-phenylenediamine suppliers in the market decreased, and safety production was strictly supervised. How to ensure the supply security of aramid raw materials has become a serious topic in front of major aramid manufacturers. As leading companies expand production and new competitors emerge, the problem of aramid raw materials will become more severe.
3) Hidden risks of production capacity expansion appear
Lured by the high profitability of leading companies, domestic companies have an obvious urge to build and expand aramid projects. Whether it is meta-aramid, para-aramid or aramid paper, the industry development order is facing a test.
Meta-aramid is a relatively well-developed industry in my country. There are currently two large-scale manufacturers with a total annual effective production capacity of about 10,000 tons. However, the annual domestic consumption is only about 6,000 tons. The balance between supply and demand has been basically achieved through exports. Historically, meta-aramid was an industry with an imbalance between supply and demand. There were four suppliers competing with each other, with a total annual production capacity of 12,000t, while the domestic annual demand was only 5,000t at that time. Due to large production capacity and low demand, new entrants’ product performance is poor and production stability is not high, making it difficult to be accepted by the high-end market. They focus on low-price competition in the field of industrial filtration, resulting in product selling prices falling from 160,000 yuan per unit in 2009. Ton has dropped all the way to 60,000 yuan/ton in 2015, and has been hovering at low levels for many years. In 2017, after two companies closed their production lines, the selling prices and profitability of aramid products gradually recovered. In recent years, the supply and demand of the meta-aramid fiber industry have been basically balanced. As the market development effect gradually appears, the meta-aramid fiber projects of domestic Taihe New Materials, Yancheng De’ande, Ganzhou Longbang, Liaoning Furui and other companies have also successively entered the market. Expansion or preparation stage.
In terms of para-aramid fiber, at the beginning of the 20th century, six companies in my country, including Henan Shenma, Hebei Silicon Valley, and Yizheng Chemical Fiber, were involved in the production of para-aramid fiber, but only Taihe New Materials, Zhonglan Chenguang, and Zhongfang Special Fiber. Enterprise products continue to be supplied to the market. In comparison, among domestic companies, Taihe New Materials has been more successful in industrialization and is at the leading level in the country. However, its domestic market share is only about 10%, and its influence in the global market is also small. In order to reduce the gap with leading international companies, Taihe New Materials, China Blue M&G, Jiangsu Ruisheng, Zhongxu Cathay and other companies have also successively planned to expand or build new production capacity to achieve large-scale expansion of new production capacity. In terms of aramid paper, the problem of overcapacity has always existed. At present, the nominal production capacity of aramid paper in my country is 8,000 t, and the actual demand is only more than 2,000 tons, which is in a state of serious oversupply; the annual domestic production of aramid paper is only about 1,200 t, and the overall capacity utilization rate is only 15%. The development of the industry has returned to normal. Heavy but long way to go.
