In 2024, while maintaining strong growth, China's chemical industry is also facing challenges of overcapacity and overheated investment. In the first seven months, the cost pressure in the chemical industry has decreased, but the demand side outlook remains low, and a comprehensive recovery still needs some time. However, the rapid development of industries such as new energy vehicles will still provide certain support for the demand in the chemical industry. On the supply side, most basic chemical products are still in the stage of capacity consumption or expansion, and the industry's supply and demand will still be in a relaxed situation.

As an upstream player in the coatings industry, the chemical industry's prices affect the prices of products in the coatings industry. The paint procurement cost index for July 2024 was 88%, a decrease of 3 percentage points compared to the previous month and an increase of 4 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023. From the perspective of representative products, the prices of coating raw materials such as epoxy resin, ethyl acetate, MMA, etc. increased slightly in July, while the prices of other products such as TDI, butyl acrylate, propylene glycol, isopropanol, toluene, pure benzene, acrylic acid, xylene, etc. decreased.

According to monitoring data from Ibuychem Research Institute, the purchasing cost index of powder coatings in July 2024 was 122%, a decrease of 12 percentage points compared to the previous month and an increase of 37 percentage points compared to the same period last year. In July, the prices of raw materials such as neopentyl glycol and isobutyraldehyde for polyester resin decreased significantly. However, due to the high TMA prices, although the procurement cost value decreased month on month, it was still significantly higher than the same period last year.

The upstream raw materials of waterproof material industry chain include asphalt, SBS modifier, polyester base, polyether, membrane (including isolation membrane), lotion, base oil, paraffin, etc. From the perspective of the cost proportion of waterproof materials, the cost proportion of direct materials is as high as 90%, and changes in raw material prices directly affect the cost of waterproof materials. According to the Purchasing Cost Index of Waterproof Materials from Ibuychem Research Institute, the purchasing cost index of waterproof materials in July 2024 was 108%, a decrease of 2 percentage points compared to the previous month and an increase of 11 percentage points year-on-year.