(April 14, 2026 Industry News)
In the second quarter, with the steady increase in the operating rate of downstream industries such as tires, silicone rubber, and coatings, the demand side of the domestic silica market continued to pick up, and the backward production capacity in the industry gradually withdrew.
At present, precipitation silica is the mainstream product in the market, and the supply side remains relatively stable. Benefiting from the continuous increase in the penetration rate of green tires, the demand for highly dispersed silica has been particularly eye-catching, becoming an important driving force for the growth of the industry.
In terms of application field expansion, silica is no longer limited to the traditional rubber industry. The rapid growth of demand for emerging scenarios such as food anti-caking agents, pharmaceutical carriers, lithium battery separators, and high-end defoamers has prompted enterprises to accelerate the adjustment of product structure and upgrade to the direction of refinement, specialization and high purity, and the market attention of high value-added products such as fumed silica continues to increase.
In terms of cost, although upstream sulfuric acid and energy prices are still at a high level, with the optimization of production processes, the expansion of raw material procurement channels and the emergence of scale effects, the impact of the cost side on enterprises has eased. Some enterprises further improve production efficiency and enhance market risk resistance through waste heat recovery, energy-saving transformation, etc.
Industry analysts believe that in the short term, the silica market will maintain a steady upward trend with the rhythm of downstream demand, and the possibility of large price fluctuations is low. In the medium and long term, with the continuous improvement of industry concentration, the implementation of green production standards and the acceleration of the process of high-end substitution, leading enterprises with technical advantages and cost advantages will usher in greater room for development, and the entire industry will develop in a healthier and more sustainable direction.
