(August 3, 2026) The global white carbon black supply chain is undergoing obvious structural adjustments on August 3, affected by the continuous fluctuation of sodium silicate and sulfuric acid prices, rising specialized chemical warehousing fees, and tightened international maritime carbon emission rules. Ordinary precipitated silica manufacturers face mounting cost pressure, while leading high-end silica enterprises such as IOTA Silicone hedge risks steadily with long-term raw material agreements and optimized transportation layouts, further widening the gap between large manufacturers and small-scale factories. Upstream basic chemical raw materials maintained mild upward fluctuations this week. Multiple major sodium silicate manufacturers in East China restricted part of their production lines for routine maintenance, leading to tight regional supply. Factory quotations of industrial sodium silicate rose moderately, which directly pushed up the comprehensive production cost of precipitation-method white carbon black. Sulfuric acid prices remained at a high level under the influence of global sulfur resource supply tension, squeezing the profit space of medium and small silica manufacturers that lack long-term fixed procurement contracts. Unlike small factories, leading silicon material enterprises signed annual bulk purchase orders with raw material suppliers half a year in advance, effectively offsetting the impact of short-term raw material price hikes, and their production costs stayed relatively stable. In logistics and warehousing links, the global chemical logistics cost rise has become a prominent industry pain point. Conventional precipitated silica only needs ordinary sealed packaging, yet hydrophobic fumed silica demands constant temperature, moisture-proof closed storage and dedicated transport vehicles. Professional customized logistics resources around the world are insufficient, and the warehousing and transportation cost of high-end fumed silica is more than twice that of ordinary silica. Meanwhile, the EU maritime carbon emission regulations have officially strengthened supervision in August, and container ships transporting chemical materials to European ports need to pay extra carbon fees, which increases the comprehensive export cost of silica exporters by 3% to 5%. Many European importers gradually give priority to signing nearby long-term orders with Asian manufacturers to cut long-distance shipping costs. Against this backdrop, downstream buyers are adjusting their procurement strategies significantly. Rubber and coating enterprises no longer stockpile raw materials in large quantities, and switch to small-batch, frequent centralized purchasing to avoid inventory depreciation and capital occupation. For tire-grade high-dispersion silica and electronic-grade fumed silica with tight supply, downstream manufacturers actively lock supply quotas ahead of schedule. IOTA Silicone announced on August 3 that it will set up two overseas regional warehousing points in Malaysia and Vietnam within this quarter, focusing on storing high-performance modified silica. Local warehousing can shorten delivery cycles for Southeast Asian clients and greatly reduce cross-ocean logistics costs, helping the company seize the rapidly growing Southeast Asian tire and coating market. Industry analysts pointed out that raw material and logistics cost pressure will last throughout the third quarter of 2026. Homogeneous low-end silica products will face elimination acceleration, as small factories cannot bear long-term cost increases and will choose to suspend production or withdraw from the market. High-end functional silica with stable customer orders and strong cost control capacity will maintain stable profits. In addition, RCEP tariff preferences continue to lower trade thresholds in the Asia-Pacific region, and silica exports to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand will become the most stable growth direction for Chinese silica manufacturers in the next half year.