(June 3, 2026) Entering June, domestic chemical warehousing rental fees and trunk road freight rates continued to rise. Coupled with the rising threshold for special storage and transportation of fumed silica, logistics and warehousing costs have become key variables influencing regional pricing and downstream procurement rhythms. The entire industry chain has shifted away from the previous large-scale long-distance stockpiling model, with local procurement, small-order replenishment on demand, and front-of-production area warehousing becoming new trends. The supply chain restructuring has profoundly changed the flow pattern of white carbon spot trading.
Looking at logistics cost data, in the second quarter of this year, national chemical warehouse rents rose by 12%-18% year-on-year. Major chemical parks in East and South China faced shortages of storage resources, and monthly warehousing costs for silica and black cargo increased by 60-90 yuan compared to the same period last year; Mainline land transport oil prices and tolls have risen, cross-province full-truckload transport unit prices have increased, with the freight per ton of precipitated silica from the southwest region to the Pearl River Delta exceeding 230 yuan, while the freight rate for exports to North China from the East China region has risen to 195 yuan/ton. High storage and transportation costs are continuously squeezing the profit margins of traders and downstream processing plants. Differences in subcategories are particularly pronounced; the threshold for packaging and storage and transportation of ordinary silica using the precipitation method is relatively low, and the cost increase is still manageable; Nano-scale fumed silica requires moisture-proof, sealed specialized warehousing and temperature-controlled transport vehicles. Domestic compliant special logistics resources are scarce, with only a few specialized logistics companies undertaking freight. Storage and transportation costs are more than double those of conventional powder, directly driving up the on-road price of high-end gas-gas silicon.
Driven by cost pressure, the downstream procurement logic has fundamentally changed. Previously, rubber and coatings companies were accustomed to stockpiling in large quantities at low prices during off-season and stockpiling over long distances. Now, to avoid high warehousing costs and capital and logistics losses, tire factories and silicone processing plants have generally canceled large-scale long-term stockpiling and instead implemented monthly batch procurement nearby. As a hub for China's rubber and plastics industry, the Pearl River Delta in South China faces insufficient local silica production capacity. In the past, full ships were transferred from Shandong and Jiangsu for years. Currently, downstream manufacturers prioritize sourcing from factories in Fujian and Jiangxi, reducing short-distance shipping costs and warehousing expenses. In the past month, shipments of white carbon from East China to South China have dropped by 20% month-on-month, while Fujian local white carbon spot shipments have increased significantly. Small and medium-sized rubber and miscellaneous parts factories have seen the most significant changes due to funding constraints. The procurement cycle has shifted from quarterly stocking to weekly small-batch orders, spot market circulation has shifted from bulk trading to fragmented essential transactions, trader inventory levels have continued to shrink, and the industry's white carbon black market inventory has steadily fallen to a nearly three-year low.
Producers are adjusting their production and sales layouts simultaneously. Leading white carbon black manufacturers are accelerating the establishment of transit warehouses in concentrated consumption areas, and permanent warehouses in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Henan, and other locations to stock in advance and deliver nearby, relying on front warehousing to lock in local customer orders; Small and medium-sized factories, unable to build their own off-site warehouses, focus on local customers within 300 kilometers of the area, abandon long-distance exports, and further widen regional price gaps in the domestic market. East China leverages its industrial cluster advantages, with well-matched raw materials and inexpensive short-distance logistics. The ex-factory price of precipitated silica of the same specification is 300-500 yuan/ton lower than in the northwest and southwest, with location and cost advantages continuously expanding and market resources concentrating in East China.
The foreign trade sector is also affected by fluctuations in international logistics, with international shipping rates fluctuating. To avoid sea freight price hikes and port storage costs, overseas buyers have abandoned large one-time orders and switched to monthly pickup in batches. Domestic silica exports have shifted from full-ship large orders to container shipments in batches, slowing export pace but improving order stability; Relying on the customs transit green channel, Fujian's rail-sea intermodal transport advantages are prominent. By leveraging direct clearance at land ports to reduce storage and dwell time, local silica exports have maintained steady growth against the trend at Fuzhou Customs.
Industry insiders analyze that rigid increases in warehousing and logistics costs have become a long-term trend, marking the end of the era of extensive cross-regional hoarding in the silica industry. In the short term, supported by nearby procurement, spot prices around production areas remain relatively stable, and long-distance cross-regional supply is passively negotiated and discounted; In the medium to long term, nearby factory construction, regional warehousing, and customized small-order distribution will become the industry's mainstream development directions. Supply chain optimization will continue to guide the reasonable matching of silica production capacity with demand, further accelerating the survival of the fittest.
