(May 31, 2026) Recently, the domestic silica black market has shown a trend of stable prices, recovering demand, and healthy inventory clearance. Entering mid to late May, as downstream end-use industries such as tires, new energy materials, and coatings recover production and sales, the rigid demand for silica continues to be released. Coupled with steady growth in foreign trade orders, the industry's supply-demand structure continues to optimize, and customized and high-end products have become the core trends in industry development, driving accelerated transformation and upgrading of the industry.
From the perspective of market price trends, the domestic white carbon black market in May remained generally stable, with no large fluctuations. According to authoritative industry data such as Business Society and Gaide Chemical Network, as of May 30, the domestic benchmark price for silica remained stable at 6,066.67 yuan/ton. The price remained flat over the past month, with a slight increase of 3.70% over the past 90 days, indicating an overall steady and positive trend. In regional markets, major production areas such as Shandong and Fujian maintained tax-inclusive quotes for rubber-grade precipitated silica at 5,100-6,000 yuan/ton. Enterprises maintained a stable bidding mindset, market negotiations were stable, low-priced sources were scarce, and the industry quotation system was becoming more standardized.
The sustained recovery in demand is the core driving force supporting the stable operation of the white carbon black market. As an important nano-level silica functional material, white carbon is widely used in green tires, rubber products, new energy batteries, coatings, daily chemicals, and many other fields. Since the second quarter, domestic automotive industry production and sales have continued to recover, with shipments of new energy vehicles and high-end energy-saving tires increasing significantly, driving steady growth in demand for white carbon black for green tires. Compared to traditional carbon black, white carbon black can effectively reduce tire rolling resistance and improve wear resistance, meeting the current development needs of lightweight and energy-saving new energy vehicles, making it one of the preferred raw material procurement choices for tire companies.
Beyond the traditional rubber sector, demand in emerging sectors continues to expand, injecting new growth momentum into the industry. Since May, demand for high-end vapor phase processing and customized silica in new energy batteries, high-end coatings, and food and daily chemicals has continued to grow. Industrial-grade fumed silica is widely used in new energy battery material modification due to its strong stability and wide compatibility, effectively optimizing battery lifespan and safety performance. The new energy sector has become a new growth pole in the silica industry. At the same time, segmented demand for white carbon black for toothpaste grade and coating grade continues to be segmented, driving differentiated industry development.
The outstanding performance of the foreign trade market further strengthened the industry's prosperity. This month, domestic silica export orders continued to expand, overseas market demand steadily recovered, and the proportion of foreign trade orders from mainstream domestic manufacturers kept rising, effectively offsetting some off-season fluctuations in the domestic market. The overall production-to-sales ratio of the industry remained high. With the steady recovery of overseas chemical supply chains, domestic high-quality silica continues to expand its export share in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the American market, leveraging its cost-performance advantage.
On the supply side, domestic white carbon black companies maintained stable operating rates, and industry inventory continued to be depleted. After previous industry capacity optimization and the elimination of outdated capacity, the supply-demand matching in the industry has greatly improved. Companies mainly rely on order-based production, and inventory pressure is manageable. At the same time, the competitive landscape is gradually being optimized, with homogeneous low-price competition easing. Leading companies are focusing on technological iteration and product upgrades, increasing investment in high-end customized product R&D, and launching dedicated models for different downstream scenarios to further enhance product added value and market competitiveness.
Industry analysts stated that in May, the white carbon black market operated smoothly and demand steadily recovered, marking the industry's official entry into a critical stage of quality improvement and upgrading. In the short term, downstream tire and new energy industry demand is expected to continue recovering in June. Coupled with support from the foreign trade market, the silica market is highly likely to continue stable performance, with prices likely to remain firm. In the long term, as emerging industries such as new energy and high-end manufacturing continue to develop, the market space for high-end functional white carbon will keep expanding, and the industry will completely move away from extensive capacity expansion and move toward high-quality, refined, and customized development.
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