Float glass inventory increases, photovoltaic glass market demand improves

As of March 29, the spot price of 5mm float glass in Shahe, North China was 1,456 yuan/ton, which was -96 yuan/ton compared with last week.

According to statistics from Longzhong Information, as of March 28, the total inventory of float glass sample companies nationwide was 66.936 million heavy boxes, +3.322 million heavy boxes month-on-month, +5.22% month-on-month, and +4.1% year-on-year. The number of discounted inventory days is 27.2 days, +1.3 days compared with the previous period. The average daily production and sales rate of float glass this week is -16.8 percentage points compared with last week, and the industry's inventory accumulation has increased again.

The operating rate of the float glass industry was 85.2%, the same as on the 21st; the capacity utilization rate of the float glass industry was 86.72%, the same as on the 21st. This week (20240322-0328), the average operating rate of the float glass industry was 85.2%, the same as the previous month; the average capacity utilization rate of the float glass industry was 86.72%, +0.34% from the previous month. The national float glass daily output was 176,500 tons, the same as on the 21st. This week (20240322-0328), the national float glass output was 1.2352 million tons, +0.4% month-on-month and +11.42% year-on-year.

This week, price reductions have been accelerated across the country. The inventory replenishment driven by Shahe's price guarantee policy is coming to an end. Some manufacturers in central China have started price guarantees. The effect remains to be seen. Overall glass manufacturers are mainly focusing on cutting prices to remove warehouses, and spot prices have yet to see signs of stopping their decline and stabilizing. Glass production has reached a historical high, and it is expected that high production will remain high despite considerable profits. There are no new ignition and cold repair production lines this week, but two new ignition production lines have produced glass in the previous period, and the daily melting volume has risen to a historically high range. However, the demand side is lower than market expectations, and raw film companies continue to accumulate inventories.

Photovoltaic glass prices were unchanged this week. 3.2mm glass remains at 25.5 yuan/square meter, and 2.0mm glass is 16.5 yuan/square meter. Looking at next week, component manufacturers have increased their production schedules and demand is improving. It is expected that the market will be strong and the price of orders in April will be increased. Although new production capacity has been added to photovoltaic glass, the short-term supply increase is limited. The relationship between supply and demand in the market is good, and prices are expected to have room to rise.

According to Zhuochuang Information, as of March 21, there were a total of 493 photovoltaic glass production lines in the country, with a daily melting capacity of 100,800 tons, an increase of 1.0% month-on-month; new ignition projects in March include Jiangxi Rainbow One Kiln and Four Lines on March 21 Projects with a melting capacity of 1,000 tons and a daily melting capacity of 1,000 tons for the fourth line of Anhui Xinyi kiln on March 14.

According to the Zongheng New Energy official account, it is expected that the new photovoltaic glass production capacity in 2024 will exceed 20,000 tons/day, and the domestic photovoltaic glass production capacity is expected to reach 120,000 tons/day by the end of the year. Assuming that the annual average production rate is calculated, the annual The effective output is about 110,000 tons/day, so the degree of oversupply is within 10%; in addition, the market cold repairs are expected to increase more in 2024, and there is a certain possibility of cold repairs for small tonnage and kilns before 2018. The inventory days of major photovoltaic glass companies dropped to 21.6 days, a month-on-month decrease of 7.4%; the rapid destocking reflects the current strong demand and tight supply of the photovoltaic glass market. In terms of supply, the expected effective daily melting volume of photovoltaic glass in 2024 About 110,000 tons/day, the number of cold repair kilns may increase.