Sweltering summer heat coincides with the traditional off-season for the chemical sector, leading to sluggish trading for most bulk chemical products nationwide. Nevertheless, the white carbon black industry has charted a course distinct from previous years, abandoning the usual pattern of price cuts and inventory clearance during the off-season. The defining feature of the current market lies in structural differentiation: conventional precipitated silica holds steady and edges slightly upward backed by foreign trade orders and rigid demand from traditional industries; low-end homogeneous fillers face shrinking profit margins amid overcapacity; high-end fumed silica tailored for photovoltaic energy storage, lithium batteries and precision electronics remains tight in supply with unwavering prices. Intertwined factors including regional price gaps of raw materials, varying production rates among enterprises, evolving downstream applications, as well as global trade and environmental policies have steered the industry away from extensive mass production and into a new phase of refined and differentiated competition.

　　Upstream raw material trends diverge sharply between the north and south, with mild cost increases supporting the market floor. Sodium silicate and sulfuric acid are two indispensable raw materials for precipitated silica production, whose prices vary drastically across the country this month. Sustained capacity expansion has flooded the soda ash market, keeping its price hovering at a low level for a long time and effectively offsetting rising production costs caused by modest quartz sand price hikes. Affected by summer environmental inspections and staggered high-temperature production restrictions, small and medium-sized sodium silicate manufacturers in East and South China — major production hubs — have voluntarily cut operating rates, tightening local supply and lifting factory prices slightly. North and Northwest China boast ample raw material reserves and relaxed supply-demand balance, with prices remaining largely unchanged. The sulfuric acid market sees a stark north-south divide: fertilizer and metallurgical industries in the south slash off-season purchases, resulting in inventory accumulation and minor price declines; northern prices creep up supported by export orders and demand from local heavy industries. Overall, the production cost per ton of white carbon black rises marginally. Though insufficient to trigger a major market rally, it effectively prevents steep price falls in the off-season. Leading enterprises secure far stronger cost control capabilities than small workshops via long-term fixed-price procurement contracts, widening the competitive gap day by day.

　　Polarized production rates have become the norm: leading manufacturers run at full capacity to fulfill long-term orders, while small and medium enterprises schedule maintenance to hedge operational risks. At present, the overall national operating rate of white carbon black stabilizes between 75% and 80%. Top-tier producers hold abundant medium and long-term orders scheduled all the way to late September, operating production lines nonstop round the clock and maintaining inventories at a healthy low level. They prioritize deliveries to major tire conglomerates, large silicone manufacturers and regular overseas partners, with no intention to offload inventories at a discount for capital recovery. A great number of small and medium precipitated silica manufacturers are faced with mounting operational pressure. High temperatures accelerate equipment wear, coupled with more frequent environmental inspections, making consistent stable production difficult. Confined merely to basic rubber reinforcement, their products lack customized modification technologies for hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity and high specific surface area, resulting in weak customer loyalty. These manufacturers can only secure orders through slight price cuts, continuously squeezing profit margins for low-end grades. New capacity is released gradually, and no large-scale new production lines are set to launch anytime soon, incapable of altering the existing supply-demand landscape. Fumed silica features high technical thresholds, with premium domestic capacity concentrated in a handful of enterprises. High-end modified grades dedicated to new energy and semiconductors are in short supply with repeatedly extended delivery cycles, a situation unlikely to ease in the short term.

　　Downstream demand shifts between old and new tracks: traditional markets consolidate the fundamental market scale, while emerging high-end sectors unlock new growth potential. Tires remain the largest consumption field for white carbon black, accounting for over 60% of total demand. Domestic automobile production and sales recover steadily alongside rising market penetration of new energy vehicles, fueling growing output of low rolling-resistance eco-friendly tires. New energy vehicle tires require a higher dosage of white carbon black, nearly 20% more than fuel-powered vehicle tires, continuously depleting inventories of high-dispersity precipitated silica. However, the automobile market is currently in its traditional off-season. Major tire companies adopt on-demand procurement and lean inventory strategies without large-scale stockpiling, failing to spark a buying frenzy. Demand for traditional rubber products such as hoses, conveyor belts and footwear rubber stays tepid, only covering trivial daily replenishment and exerting limited driving force on the market.

　　Emerging application scenarios including photovoltaic module encapsulant adhesives, lithium battery diaphragm coatings, potting compounds for 3C electronics, optical fiber protective coatings, daily care products and pharmaceutical excipients have evolved into the core growth engine for high-end white carbon black. Rapid capacity expansion of next-generation photovoltaic cells has driven soaring demand for silicone sealants for module encapsulation, making high-specific-surface-area fumed silica — a key reinforcing and thickening ingredient — in acute shortage. Demand for high-purity impurity-free fumed silica surges year-on-year for lithium battery and solid-state battery packaging. Besides, demand rises steadily for weather-resistant construction sealants, industrial anti-corrosion coatings, ink matting agents and food anti-caking additives, with full order books for various customized modified specialty white carbon black grades. Exports maintain solid overall performance, with steady purchasing demand for construction materials and rubber goods from Southeast Asia. Following the enforcement of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and tire energy efficiency regulations, overseas buyers show greater preference for Chinese white carbon black that meets stringent environmental standards, which effectively absorbs excess domestic low-end capacity and stabilizes domestic spot prices. Many domestic enterprises have established overseas production bases to bypass trade barriers and further expand global sales channels.

　　Price gaps between various grades of white carbon black keep widening, forming a complete hierarchical market system. The mainstream negotiated ex-factory price of general rubber-grade precipitated silica ranges from 5800 to 6200 CNY per ton; ultra-fine 1250-mesh high-activity precipitated silica, widely applied in high-end silicone rubber and electronic sealing components, is priced between 8300 and 8600 CNY per ton; food and pharmaceutical high-purity grades undergo stringent production supervision with stable prices of 6400 to 6700 CNY per ton. The price tier gap of fumed silica is even more prominent: conventional domestic Grade 200 fumed silica costs 20 to 23.5 CNY per kilogram; hydrophobic modified high-end grades are priced at 25 to 28 CNY per kilogram; ultra-high-purity semiconductor-specific grades imported from Europe and the US sell for 28 to 38.5 CNY per kilogram and remain perpetually scarce. Clear regional price disparities exist nationwide: Central China records a lower average factory price for general industrial white carbon black; South China offers moderate prices for rubber-specific grades; Shandong boasts a complete industrial chain and comprehensive product portfolio, with cheap low-end powder and obvious premiums for high-end modified products. Traders flexibly allocate goods according to regional demand, and market transactions proceed in a rational and mild atmosphere.

　　The implementation of new environmental policies alongside adjustments to the global trade landscape has established low-carbon green production and domestic substitution of high-end products as the long-term development themes of the industry. The revised clean production specifications for silicon-based new materials have been fully rolled out, tightening standards for wastewater recycling rates and waste gas pollutant emissions. Backward inefficient capacities failing environmental assessments are being phased out at an accelerated pace, lifting industrial concentration and steadily expanding the market share of leading enterprises. The official launch of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism covers carbon emission accounting across the entire chain from raw material extraction to finished product delivery, compelling domestic enterprises to upgrade production technologies. Rice husk-based bio-synthetic white carbon black and low-temperature energy-saving synthesis processes have gradually achieved large-scale mass production, greatly boosting the export competitiveness of green low-carbon products. Frequent overseas anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations have accelerated the domestic substitution of high-end fumed silica. Currently, the self-sufficiency rate of domestic high-end fumed silica has risen markedly, and only ultra-high-purity specialty grades for semiconductor applications still require a small volume of imports.

　　Multiple domestic chemical research institutions have issued forecasts for future market trends: from late August to early September, the market will sustain a mild upward trend, with conventional precipitated silica expected to rise by 100 to 300 CNY per ton. Supported by rigid demand from the new energy sector, high-end fumed silica prices will stay firm with minimal room for decline. Upon the arrival of September, rubber and coating industries will enter their traditional consumption peak. Coupled with concentrated pre-holiday stocking ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, the overall white carbon black market will usher in an upward cycle. In the long run, the extensive development model marked by vicious price competition has come to an end. Surface modification technologies, customized formula research & development, low-carbon eco-friendly smart manufacturing processes and ultra-fine high-purity processing capabilities will serve as core benchmarks measuring corporate competitiveness. Leading enterprises will keep expanding their market territory leveraging advantages in production capacity, technology, customer resources and cost management, while the living space of small and medium manufacturers relying on homogeneous low-end products will continue to shrink. The entire industry will forge ahead steadily toward refined customization, high-end scenario application and green low-carbon smart manufacturing.