In late October 2026, China’s precipitated silica market continues the trend of structural divergence. The supply of standard precipitated silica exceeds demand, with prices fluctuating within a range and muted trading sentiment. Industry monitoring data shows that the mainstream ex-factory quotation of ordinary rubber-grade precipitated silica stays within 6380-6460 CNY per ton, lacking upward price momentum. Downstream traditional shoe-making and ordinary rubber product sectors suffer from weak orders. Terminal manufacturers face extended payment collection cycles and mounting capital pressure, so they maintain conservative procurement strategies and generally adopt hand-to-mouth purchasing to avoid inventory backlog risks. Traders are reluctant to stock up actively. Market circulation mainly depends on long-term framework orders from regular customers, and there is sufficient bargaining room for sporadic small orders. Regional market gaps remain obvious. East China sees steady capacity release, abundant spot goods and fierce market competition. Restricted by raw material transportation costs and regional energy consumption quotas, spot transaction prices in Southwest and Central China are slightly higher. Most manufacturers of standard grades flexibly adjust operating rates, cut output to control inventory, reduce working capital occupation and ease operational pressure.

　　On the supply side, the adjustment of China’s precipitated silica capacity structure continues to deepen. New capacity projects are concentrated on high value-added categories such as high-dispersion precipitated silica for green tires, hydrophobic fumed silica and special surface-modified precipitated silica. Approval for new projects of low-end standard precipitated silica has been tightened. Coupled with the continuous implementation of regular supervision on environmental protection and work safety, small and medium-sized manufacturers with substandard energy consumption and incomplete supporting facilities are continuously restricted. Backward capacity in the industry is phased out in an orderly manner, and industrial concentration rises steadily. Periodic fluctuations in the costs of raw materials and energy including sodium silicate, sulfuric acid and electricity keep squeezing profit margins of standard precipitated silica producers. Leading enterprises speed up green and intelligent upgrading of outdated production lines, continuously increase R&D investment in specialty precipitated silica, and allocate resources to mass production of high-end products. The technology for preparing low-carbon precipitated silica from rice husk ash keeps making progress. The low-carbon footprint advantage of such products complies with new overseas carbon control regulations, drawing growing attention from overseas purchasers of tires and rubber materials. Low-carbon precipitated silica has gradually become a new competition track in the industry. Leading enterprises also expand their business models, upgrading from simple material suppliers to integrated material service providers with supporting powder modification and formula debugging.

　　The demand side still presents a polarized pattern. Demand in traditional fields such as shoe materials, ordinary rubber parts and conventional coating matting powder remains at a low level, and downstream manufacturers only purchase for basic needs. Green new energy tires remain the core growth track for precipitated silica. The penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China rises steadily. Together with the implementation of Euro 7 tire emission regulations overseas, tire manufacturers are forced to continuously optimize tread formulas. With the advantages of reducing rolling resistance, improving wet skid resistance and cutting particulate emissions, high-dispersion precipitated silica is added in higher proportions in tire formulas, and orders for tire-grade high-dispersion precipitated silica are delivered stably. Demand from the organosilicon industrial chain is steadily released. As the core reinforcing filler for silicone rubber, fumed silica benefits from rising demand in photovoltaic sealing, new energy device encapsulation, electronic potting, cable insulation and other fields. Meanwhile, emerging application scenarios including lithium battery separators, industrial adhesives, composite materials, pharmaceutical carriers and high-end cosmetic polishing materials keep expanding, and demand for various modified specialty precipitated silica rises steadily. The high price of carbon black pushes rubber product manufacturers to accelerate the verification of filler substitution schemes, which benefits the market penetration of high-performance precipitated silica in the medium and long term.

　　In foreign trade, the export product mix of domestic precipitated silica continues to optimize and upgrade. Overseas inquiries for tire-grade high-dispersion precipitated silica keep increasing, and manufacturers in Southeast Asia and Europe show higher purchasing enthusiasm. The full implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism makes precipitated silica produced by low-carbon processes stand out with carbon footprint advantages, and overseas brand clients are willing to pay premium prices for these products. In contrast, exports of standard precipitated silica are under pressure. They face low-price competition from local precipitated silica manufacturers in Southeast Asia, leading to sluggish export growth of conventional grades. Fluctuations in international ocean freight rates and exchange rates bring multiple uncertainties. Foreign trade enterprises become more cautious when accepting large forward orders, shorten quotation cycles and have low willingness to lock orders. The high-end specialty precipitated silica market still partially relies on imports, which are widely used in sophisticated fields such as pharmaceutical carriers, high-end cosmetics and precision polishing. Domestic enterprises keep tackling core modification technologies, and the import substitution of high-end grades moves forward steadily.

　　Market outlook: The structural trend of China’s precipitated silica market cannot be fundamentally changed in the short run. Prices of standard precipitated silica will probably remain weak and stable with slow inventory digestion. Demand for high-dispersion tire silica and high-end hydrophobic fumed silica stays strong, and prices fluctuate within a high range. In the medium and long term, the continuous expansion of new energy vehicles, high-end organosilicon and electronic new material industries, together with tightened overseas environmental regulations for tires, will continuously drive demand growth for high-performance precipitated silica. The competition logic of the industry has transformed from simple price competition into comprehensive competition covering powder modification technology, low-carbon green production and supporting formula services. Small and medium manufacturers with single product structure and weak R&D capability will face mounting operational pressure, and industrial capacity, customer and R&D resources will keep converging to leading enterprises. Follow-up attention should be paid to the chain effects brought by raw material price fluctuations, operating rates of the downstream tire industry and updates of overseas carbon policies.