Aug China SBS Imports Fall Amid Weak Demand
Snapshot: In August, China’s SBS import volume further slid as the overall demand was relatively tepid. China’s SBS import volume was 1,430.14mt in August, down 61.61% M-O-M and down 33.73% Y-O-Y. The imported resources mainly came from Taiwan, China. No Russian resources arrived at the ports. The market mainly consumed previous inventory.
According to the data of GACC, China’s SBS import volume was 1,430.14mt in August, down 61.61% M-O-M and down 33.73% Y-O-Y. From January to August, China’s total SBS import volume was 52,314.04mt, up 190.59% Y-O-Y. In August, China’s imported SBS resources mainly came from Taiwan, China. No Russian resources arrived at the ports. China’s total SBS import volume was far higher than that in the same period of previous years. The market mainly consumed resources arriving at the ports in the earlier stage. Downstream demand was relatively weak on the whole. Major traders faced pressure in selling goods, causing a M-O-M decline in the SBS import volume in August.
According to GACC, the imported dry SBS resources from Taiwan, China accounted for around 47% of the total in August, ranking first. Those from Japan took up around 31% of the total, ranking second. Those from South Korea accounted for around 9%, ranking third. The imported oil-extended SBS resources from Taiwan, China took up around 79% of the total, ranking first, while those from HK, China accounted for around 10%, ranking second.
The reasons why the SBS imports fell in August were as follows. On the one hand, China’s SBS market competition intensified. In 2023, some products at Hainan Baling New Chemical Materials are still in the promotion period. As there were many low-priced imported resources in the earlier days, high social inventory needed to be consumed, hampering the sales at traders. On the other hand, the operating rate of the overall downstream industries recovered limitedly in August although the production slack season of the modified bitumen and waterproof roll industries came to an end. Besides, some previous downstream low-priced inventory needed to be consumed, curbing the demand for imported resources.
After the social inventory of imported resources was consumed in the last two months, China’s inventory at major warehouse areas has fallen to a low level. It is projected that China’s SBS import volume is likely to increase in October. Although some producers may cut production in October, the total supply was still normal in the market. In addition, the overall demand is expected to decline with the road bitumen modification projects coming to an end in northern regions. It is predicted that China’s SBS import volume may ramp up in October, further weighing on China’s SBS market price.
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