(August 10, 2026)As we enter early mid-August, China’s white carbon black industry has officially bid farewell to the sluggish off-season in July amid scorching heat. Manufacturers across downstream sectors have steadily resumed production, bringing phased adjustments to the overall supply and demand landscape. Based on monitoring data from multiple institutions including Business Society, China Chemical Online and the Organosilicon Industrial Chain Research Center, the mainstream average price of general rubber-grade precipitated white carbon black nationwide stood at 5,966.67 RMB / ton on August 10, marking a slight rise of 33.34 RMB / ton from 5,933.33 RMB / ton on August 1, equivalent to a 0.56% uptick. Spot prices remained flat throughout the day without sharp fluctuations. At present, the industry exhibits distinct polarization: low-end generic precipitated white carbon black faces oversupply with limited room for price hikes, while high-dispersion tire-specific white carbon black, pharmaceutical & food-grade ultra-fine white carbon black, as well as hydrophilic and hydrophobic modified fumed white carbon black enjoy robust demand and tight supply, sustaining firm prices. Market trends are jointly shaped by raw material costs, downstream application demand, export orders and energy consumption policies.

　　Precipitated white carbon black accounts for the largest share of the market, whose fluctuations directly mirror the overall industry prosperity. In July, nationwide extreme high temperatures suppressed production activities, leading tire manufacturers, rubber seal producers, conveyor belt factories, plastic shoe sole plants and industrial anti-corrosion coating suppliers to cut operating rates, run down existing inventories and refrain from bulk purchases. Market inquiries were scarce and trading sentiment remained bleak. With temperatures dropping in August, production conditions have improved nationwide. Major domestic tire conglomerates and small-to-medium rubber goods factories have resumed full-capacity operation, triggering concentrated restocking demand. Spot transaction volume has jumped by over 20% month-on-month. Nevertheless, the long-standing issue of industrial overcapacity has not been fundamentally resolved. Numerous small and medium-sized precipitated white carbon black manufacturers have ramped up capacity, pushing inventories of standard-grade generic products to a yearly high. Merchants cut prices to liquidate stock, intensifying competition for low-end goods. Consequently, basic variants can only see modest tentative price increases rather than a sharp rally. Price gaps between segmented products keep widening: conventional loose precipitated white carbon black is mainly priced between 5,600 and 5,800 RMB / ton; spherical anti-settling grades range from 5,850 to 6,100 RMB / ton; high-dispersion reinforcing grades tailored for low-rolling-resistance new energy vehicle tires are in tight supply, with mainstream transaction prices stabilizing at 6,300 to 6,700 RMB / ton. Ultra-pure fine white carbon black used as anti-caking agents in food and pharmaceutical excipients boasts rigid demand, with steady purchases from daily chemical and health product manufacturers keeping prices firmly between 6,400 and 6,800 RMB / ton with marginal volatility.

　　Export trade serves as a crucial buffer supporting the market of precipitated white carbon black. Steady infrastructure construction in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America has expanded local capacity gaps for rubber products and architectural coatings, driving rising procurement orders for Chinese white carbon black. Leveraging superior cost performance, domestic high-dispersion tire-grade white carbon black has steadily captured market share once dominated by established European and American brands, advancing both import substitution and outbound exports. Customs statistics show China’s total white carbon black export volume climbed 12.7% month-on-month in the past month. Robust overseas orders have effectively eased the domestic inventory backlog of low-end products and underpinned spot prices in the domestic market.

　　Market polarization is even more pronounced for fumed white carbon black, whose trends are primarily governed by raw material costs and emerging sector demand. Methyltrichlorosilane, the core feedstock for fumed white carbon black situated upstream of the organosilicon chain, has seen constrained supply amid seasonal energy consumption control and staggered production arrangements across multiple regions this summer. Operating rates of organosilicon monomer producers have been curbed, pushing up procurement costs moderately and lending mild upward momentum to fumed white carbon black prices from the cost side. In terms of demand, traditional application sectors remain sluggish; procurement for architectural sealants, general silicone rubber and conventional plastic reinforcement is slow, dominated by small-batch urgent replenishment orders. In contrast, demand from new energy, optoelectronics and high-end electronics has surged drastically. Hydrophilic fumed white carbon black is widely adopted in photovoltaic encapsulant films, lithium battery separator coatings and electronic potting adhesives; hydrophobic modified variants are applied in premium liquid silicone rubber, thermal conductive gaskets, cosmetics and precision instrument moisture-proof fillers. Leading downstream enterprises have locked in supplies via long-term contracts, resulting in tight availability of high-end grades and extended order lead times alongside steadily climbing prices. Conversely, low-to-medium grade general fumed white carbon black suffers from weak demand, with manufacturers opting for on-demand production and inventory digestion. The overall operating rate of China’s fumed white carbon black sector hovers around 65%, as enterprises adjust output proactively to avoid losses amid low prices.

　　Policy shifts and technological upgrades have positioned low-carbon green transformation as the prevailing trend for the white carbon black industry. As global carbon tariffs and low-carbon trade regulations come into force, major domestic industry leaders have rolled out innovative low-carbon circular production processes. Silica feedstock extracted from renewable waste such as rice husk ash, industrial waste silica sand and organosilicon byproducts is deployed to manufacture white carbon black. This approach cuts fossil fuel consumption significantly, reduces product carbon footprints, complies with overseas low-carbon procurement standards and further enhances the international competitiveness of Chinese white carbon black. Meanwhile, the industry is optimizing its capacity mix step by step: outdated, high-energy-consuming production lines manufacturing low-quality generic products are being phased out, while resources are concentrated on developing premium specialized variants including lithium battery coating-specific white carbon black, optical-grade transparent fillers, pharmaceutical high-purity silica and aerogel composite modified white carbon black. This shift aims to break free from the long-standing predicament of vicious price competition driven by low-end homogenization. Many enterprises have deepened university-industry research collaboration to conduct surface graft modification on white carbon black, improving its dispersibility and compatibility across various substrates and broadening downstream application scenarios.

　　Looking ahead to market prospects, chemical analysts forecasted based on comprehensive supply-demand conditions: Downstream rubber and coating sectors will fully enter the peak demand season in mid-to-late August, paired with concentrated pre-Mid-Autumn Festival restocking by manufacturers. Prices of high-dispersion precipitated white carbon black, hydrophilic & hydrophobic modified fumed white carbon black, as well as food and pharmaceutical-grade high-purity white carbon black are poised to edge higher. Generic standard precipitated white carbon black will remain trapped in narrow sideways fluctuations weighed down by ample inventories. Three key factors to monitor closely include adjustments to energy consumption control policies, price swings of upstream organosilicon raw materials and fluctuations in overseas export orders. Overall, the white carbon black industry has embarked on a long-term structural development cycle featuring “strength at the high end and pressure at the low end”, with new energy and advanced new materials continuing to serve as the core growth engines of the sector.