(May 30, 2026) Entering late May, the domestic silica industry saw a significant improvement in its inventory structure, completely eliminating the pressure of previous inventory accumulation, and the overall supply-demand matching ratio has significantly increased. As the pace of downstream rigid demand procurement stabilizes, coupled with companies actively controlling and scheduling production, both industry social and factory inventories have fallen to reasonable levels for the year, market circulation is orderly, and industry resilience continues to strengthen, laying a solid fundamental foundation for stable prices going forward.
According to industry circulation data monitoring, as of May 30, the overall inventory turnover days of mainstream domestic white carbon black factories have fallen to a reasonable range of 15 to 20 days, significantly easing the inventory accumulation level compared to the high levels at the end of April. Inventory backlog issues caused by fluctuations in terminal operating rates and concentrated shipments have basically been cleared out. Most manufacturers have largely released inventory pressure, eliminating the need to ease turnover pressure through price cuts and volume increases. Market quotation sentiment has become more stable, and disorderly bidding in the industry has significantly decreased.
This healthy inventory decline stems from two-way optimization on both supply and demand sides. On the supply side, domestic companies are moving toward a more rational production pace, abandoning the previous full-load production model and flexibly adjusting operating rates based on real market demand. To address the problem of high inventory of low-end general-purpose sedimentation process products, many companies have proactively reduced production and maintained maintenance in stages, strictly controlling the release of ineffective capacity, effectively balancing the supply of low-end products. High-end modified silica and fumed-phase silica black maintain full production on demand, precisely matching the rigid needs of the high-end market and achieving differentiated production scheduling.
Continued steady release of demand is the core driver for inventory clearance. Traditional tire industry operations remain high and stable, domestic tire companies have controllable finished product inventories, and ongoing normalized demand for silica is being purchased, supporting steady consumption of general-grade silica inventory. Meanwhile, demand in emerging sectors such as photovoltaic adhesives, lithium battery separators, and high-end coatings continues to grow. Orders for high-end specialty silica remain ample, product production and sales rates remain high, and zero inventory operations have basically been achieved, becoming an important driver for optimizing the industry's inventory structure.
From the perspective of regional circulation, inventory differentiation in major domestic production areas is evident. Traditional core production areas such as Shandong and Jiangsu rely on mature distribution channels and large downstream customer bases, enabling rapid inventory clearance, smooth spot resource circulation, and no backlog of market supply. Emerging production areas such as Anhui and Fujian rely on regional downstream industrial support, with inventory levels remaining low and smooth production and sales coordination among enterprises. The distribution of supply in the national market is balanced, with no extreme situations such as localized inventory backlog or supply shortages, and the market circulation system is becoming more complete.
The trade side also performed impressively. At this stage, distributors and end companies have become more rational in their purchasing mindset, completely abandoning the previous impatience of following trends and waiting to sell, and generally adopting small-batch, multi-frequency on-demand replenishment models. A healthy purchasing rhythm effectively stabilized the market inventory structure, avoided large fluctuations in inventory, made market price trends more stable, and returned the overall trading atmosphere to rationality.
Industry analysts say that inventory levels are a core indicator reflecting the fundamentals of the white carbon industry. Current industry inventories are at reasonable levels and supply and demand are balanced, indicating the industry has entered a healthy operating cycle. In the short term, downstream terminal operating expectations remain stable in June, coupled with continued production control and price protection, silica inventories may remain low, and market prices are likely to remain stable. In the medium to long term, as industry capacity regulation becomes increasingly rational and downstream diversified demand continues to be released, the supply-demand structure of the white carbon black industry will continue to improve, the industry will break free from cyclical fluctuations, and enter a stable and healthy development phase.
Overall, the current silica industry inventory structure continues to optimize, supply-demand imbalances have been effectively improved, and industry fundamentals remain positive, laying a solid market foundation for steady industrial development, technological upgrades, and high-end transformation.
