Here’s the monthly update from Sofeast’s sourcing team who has been tracking the costs of commonly used raw materials from China since January 2021 to help you understand where the market is right now. If you or your supplier are purchasing materials from China for your products the cost changes that you see here do have an impact on your bottom line!
Here’s the up-to-date material cost data from China for you as of late January 2023 and the price evolution since Jan ’21. Note the monthly cost change, in particular:
You can see the overall cost evolution since Jan 21 here – you’ll notice that costs have stabilized, but many are running at a higher level now than when we started this monthly analysis; batteries, AL alloy, and PVC, to name three examples of this:
Here is what market analysts attribute these changes to:
Epoxy resin (epoxy refers to E-51) – increased 0.91%
After the Chinese New Year festival, the raw material bisphenol A may continue to be strong, epichlorohydrin may run stably, the overall raw material cost support is expected to be stable and at a high level, and the probability of returning to the market downstream after the Spring Festival is large.
ABS(AG-15E1) – decreased 1.38%
Recently, the ABS upstream styrene and butadiene raw material costs have increased to varying degrees. With the rising price of these materials, the cost pressure has increased, and the profit of ordinary ABS has been continuously compressed. As a result, the cost of lifting and macro expectations are better, and the price of ABS is strong in the short term after the CNY holiday.
AL alloy (ADC 12) – increased 0.05%
Aluminum ingot manufacturers had longer CNY holidays than most industries and were late to start operating again. Market transactions have been stagnant, some manufacturers completed the order production prior to their holidays and supplemented factories’ finished product inventory, resulting in the price of aluminum alloy ingots seeing no real change in price.
Paper for color boxes – decreased 0.23%
The week after the Chinese New Year festival, the coated paper market saw stable operation. With the return to operation after the holiday, the market and trading need a certain recovery time. Paper mills are operating strongly now, but the industry is still waiting and some short-term volatility is limiting change.
Paper for cartons – no change in price
After the end of the holiday, the double adhesive paper market trading has gradually returned, although the industry may be adopting a wait-and-see approach in the short term which results in no particular change in costs for this packaging.
How to combat the rising costs?
Explore cost-reducing tips in this post: Rising Raw Material Prices: What Strategy To Follow? (6 Approaches).
What to do if your Chinese supplier suddenly tells you that material costs have risen: How To Cooperate With Your Chinese Supplier, Part 16: Bad News from China, Raw Material Prices Just Increased!
If your supplier just isn’t working out, maybe sourcing a new supplier will help you find one who can offer you better prices and more. If so, there’s no need to fear switching from your current supplier to a new one if you’re prepared: How To Switch To A Newer, Better Chinese Manufacturer? [eBook].
We hope this is helpful. Our mission at Sofeast is to help importers have transparency in their supply chain and to give them more control. And this information is critical to have some visibility into your manufacturer’s costing.
By the way, you can always contact us if you have any questions about whether a manufacturer’s quote is reasonable.
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