In the first half of 2025, the titanium product market was affected by the overall environment, and terminal demand was difficult to increase. In the first quarter, the market was stable and rising due to the advance of demand; but due to the increase in the supply of titanium products, the market gradually showed a trend of oversupply in the second quarter. Although sponge titanium was the only good performer, the market price of titanium had declined to varying degrees compared with the beginning of the year.

1. Market price analysis in the first half of 2025

The first stage of rising: Entering 2025, the market continues the downward trend at the end of 2024. In early January, the market has a 200 yuan/ton decline. As the holiday approaches, the market inventory increases, and the price of raw materials rises. The titanium dioxide market stopped falling and rebounded in late January; due to the early market demand, the decline in production and tight supply, the market ushered in three rounds of price increases from January to March. The reasons for the price increase are: First, the Spring Festival holiday is approaching, and the market inventory factories are obviously destocking; Second, the price of raw material titanium ore has risen, and the cost support has been strengthened; Third, during the Spring Festival, titanium dioxide enterprises were overhauled and the operating rate declined; Fourth, the market price surge, the company's orders continued to be good; Fifth, India and other countries have increased export tariffs, titanium dioxide exports were good in the first quarter, and domestic inventories were not high; With the continuous rise in titanium dioxide prices and the impact of early demand, the price increase in March has not been implemented, the market order volume has declined, and the demand for the chlorination method is sluggish, the market competition pressure is relatively large, and at the end of March, some companies generally made price concessions, but the shipment advantage is still not obvious, and the market inventory pressure is large.

The second stage of decline: From April to June, the titanium dioxide market continued to decline, the market price was also relatively chaotic, and the price difference of titanium dioxide grades narrowed. Due to poor demand, enterprises were under great pressure to ship goods, and the inventory of manufacturers continued to increase. Starting from mid-April, some manufacturers began to offer preferential prices, and the prices of enterprises continued to adjust in the second half of the month. Due to the influence of market and cost, enterprises were under great pressure to inventory. Nearly 20 enterprises in the market stopped production and reduced production, and the start-up also declined sharply; in June, the market entered the off-season, and the price difference of market grades generally narrowed. The prices of sulfuric acid method and chlorination method were basically close, and the cost of raw materials was difficult to reduce. The prices of enterprises were mostly at the cost line, and some prices had already suffered a slight loss. However, due to the heavy inventory pressure, the start-up also declined again. The titanium dioxide market was stable and weak, and the price fell to the lowest point in the first half of the year.

2. Forecast and analysis of the market in the second half of 2025

The titanium dioxide market will continue to operate under pressure in the second half of 2025. This year, the real estate industry has undergone a deep adjustment, and external economic and trade frictions and other pressures still exist, which will continue to have a profound impact on the titanium dioxide market. Due to the difficulty in increasing domestic and foreign trade demand, the domestic titanium dioxide inventory increased significantly in the second quarter due to the obstruction of foreign trade, and the pressure on enterprises was also greater than in previous periods; some enterprises in the market had maintenance plans in July, and this year, the market had new production capacity put into production in the second quarter, and the output was gradually released in the third quarter. The contradiction between the supply and demand of titanium dioxide will be upgraded again, and the pressure on the phased destocking of market inventory is relatively large. The overall operating rate of the titanium dioxide market may continue to be suppressed in the third quarter, but the terminal demand is weak, and the price difference between sulfuric acid method and chloride method titanium dioxide has narrowed, which has had many impacts on the market share of sulfuric acid method, and enterprises are under great pressure to ship; the cost price of raw materials continues to be high, and the demand in the third quarter is expected to be difficult to grow in the short term. The titanium dioxide market is bearish, but there is still uncertainty in the foreign trade export market, and there is still great pressure on the operation of titanium dioxide in the later period.