1、 Overview of Synthetic Rubber
Synthetic rubber, also known as synthetic elastomer, is a high elasticity polymer synthesized artificially from coal, oil, and natural gas as the main raw materials. It is one of the three major synthetic materials. Synthetic rubber has high elasticity, insulation, airtightness, oil resistance, high or low temperature resistance, and is widely used in industry, agriculture, national defense, transportation, and daily life. From the product form, it can be divided into liquid rubber, solid rubber, latex, and powdered rubber
According to the formation process, it can be divided into thermoplastic rubber and vulcanized rubber. There are many types of synthetic rubber, so their downstream applications are extremely extensive, which can be roughly divided into two parts: civilian and industrial fields. The civilian sector includes industries such as daily necessities, building decoration adhesives, and footwear, while the industrial sector includes industries such as automobiles, aerospace, and agriculture. The demand in downstream markets is greatly influenced by the global and Chinese macroeconomics and national income levels.
2、 Since 2004, China's synthetic rubber industry has entered a period of rapid development, with production currently ranking first in the world. Some product quality and equipment scale have entered the world's advanced ranks. In 2020, affected by the COVID-19, China's synthetic rubber supply and demand were impacted in the first half of the year. In the second half of the year, affected by multiple factors such as market recovery, price reduction and export tax rebate, the output rose against the trend. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, 2021
The annual production of synthetic rubber in China was 8.117 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.72%. Benefiting from downstream demand, Chinese enterprises have started production one after another, and their production capacity continues to increase. At present, the production capacity of China's synthetic rubber industry is mainly concentrated in the eastern region, accounting for 66% of the total production capacity. In addition, there are production capacity distributions in the Northeast, Western, and Central regions, accounting for 15%, 11%, and 8% respectively. However, the fierce competition in the industry market and the continuous expansion of production by enterprises have led to serious overcapacity. This requires joint efforts from enterprises, industries, and governments to activate idle production capacity and reduce resource waste.
3、 Import and export volume of synthetic rubber
Affected by the China US trade war in 2019, China's imports of synthetic rubber decreased to 54955 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 19.2%. In 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19, China's production of synthetic rubber has declined, making the import volume rise, up 14.04% compared with 2019. In 2021, the import volume of synthetic rubber in China continued to rise, reaching 71633 tons, a year-on-year increase of 14.3%. According to Chinese customs data, the export volume of synthetic rubber in China has shown an upward trend from 2015 to 2021, mainly due to the growth of domestic synthetic rubber production capacity, which has exceeded demand. Therefore, the export volume of synthetic rubber in China has shown an upward trend. Among them, in 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19, the export volume of domestic synthetic rubber declined. By 2021, the export volume of synthetic rubber in China has rapidly increased to 148197 tons, a year-on-year increase of 34.07%.
4、 Import and export volume of segmented synthetic rubber varieties
In the database of Chinese customs, synthetic rubber is divided into two types: synthetic rubber with unlisted primary shapes (40029911) and synthetic rubber with unlisted non primary shapes (40029919). Among them, synthetic rubber with unlisted primary shapes is the most common type of synthetic rubber, with higher import and export volumes than synthetic rubber with unlisted non primary shapes.
According to Chinese customs data, the import volume of synthetic rubber in unlisted primary shapes in China in 2021 was 62761 tons, an increase of 12.1% year-on-year; The import volume of synthetic rubber with non primary shapes not listed was 8872 tons, an increase of 41.23% year-on-year. According to Chinese customs data, the export volume of synthetic rubber in unlisted primary shapes in China in 2021 was 147198 tons, a year-on-year increase of 34.14%; The import volume of synthetic rubber with non primary shapes not listed was 999 tons, an increase of 23.95% year-on-year.
5、 According to Chinese customs data, the import and export volume of synthetic rubber latex in China showed a downward trend from 2017 to 2020. By 2020, the import volume of synthetic rubber latex in China had decreased to 3531 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 12.42%. In 2021, as the impact of the COVID-19 in China subsides, China's imports of synthetic rubber latex will rise to 6485 tons, up 83.66% year on year.
From 2016 to 2018, the export volume of synthetic rubber latex in China experienced a huge increase, rising from 41.95 tons in 2016 to 7046.3 tons in 2018, an increase of more than 110 times. By 2021, the export volume of synthetic rubber latex in China was 6117.82 tons, a year-on-year increase of 26.32%.
6、 Suggestions for the Development of Synthetic Rubber Industry
1) Strengthen basic research and lead industry development with original achievements. Exploring the complex correlation between tire performance, tire structure, tire manufacturing process, rubber processing performance, rubber molecular structure, and rubber polymerization process through the combination of theory and practice. From the relationship between the multi-level and multi-scale structure and properties of rubber nanocomposites, the molecular structure of rubber matrix materials is constructed. Through in-depth research on the rubber molecular chain structure, aggregation state structure, rubber cross-linking network, and filler reinforcement system, the relationship between rubber molecular structure and tire macroscopic properties is revealed, which guides the development of synthetic rubber varieties, grades, and corresponding synthesis processes, and achieves new technological breakthroughs in synthetic rubber.
2) In view of the serious oversupply of some mainstream products in China's synthetic rubber industry, relevant national departments should, based on sufficient research and comprehensive consideration of national development goals, domestic actual technology, resources, and uses, reasonably plan the development of related projects, focus on supporting projects with industrialization prospects, technical support, and market prospects, and avoid large and broad projects. It is recommended to integrate or shut down some zombie devices that have been parked for a long time, and limit the installation of some devices with small production capacity or already surplus products in some new pre investment capacity plans, in order to improve the capacity utilization rate of the entire synthetic rubber industry.
Actively developing high-performance synthetic rubber varieties, such as functionalized SSBR, rare earth butadiene rubber, star shaped halogenated butyl rubber, polarized SBS, hydrogenated SEBS, SEPS, sulfonated modified SBS, epoxidized isoprene rubber, liquid polybutadiene rubber, powder butadiene rubber products, etc.
3) Actively developing new processing aids and processing techniques; Using the method of combining with other rubbers to prepare materials with better comprehensive performance and reduce costs; Accelerate the research and development of composite materials such as synthetic rubber, white carbon black, graphene, carbon nanotubes, montmorillonite, and attapulgite to enhance the new properties of conductive and thermal conductivity of synthetic rubber, compensate for the shortcomings of single rubber applications, expand new application areas, meet the needs of different applications, and increase consumption.
4) Through integrated development of industry, academia, research, and application, achieve high performance and serialization of products. At the same time, in response to the personalized performance requirements of downstream users, new application areas for rubber will be developed. Establish strategic alliances between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain to enhance the competitiveness of products across the entire industry chain.
5) In the direction of product structure adjustment, research and develop new and environmentally friendly brands, increase R&D investment, improve technical level and innovation capability, and adopt new environmentally friendly and energy-saving technologies to transform or upgrade existing abandoned and zombie devices.
6) Improve existing production technology, increase the operating rate of rare earth butadiene rubber, solution polymerized styrene butadiene rubber, and isoprene rubber, and reduce dependence on foreign imports.
7) Establish brand awareness, strengthen brand building, attach importance to the construction of corporate culture, take cultivating a corporate culture with its own characteristics as the development strategy of the enterprise, and enhance the cohesion and centripetal force of the enterprise. Establish a sound and comprehensive service system, and build a good brand with high-quality products and services
Image enhances competitiveness in the market.
8) While establishing a foothold in the domestic market, further expand the international market, increase the market share of products in the international market, and expand influence; Closely monitor the market and technological status of mainstream synthetic rubber products internationally, clarify product positioning, actively participate in global market competition, and thereby increase the market share of domestic synthetic rubber products in the international market. Many rubber products in our country have mature technology and excellent quality. In addition, some large tire factories and other production lines in China have gradually transferred to foreign countries. Domestic production enterprises can consider establishing production factories abroad or jointly building production facilities with foreign enterprises. This can directly use the produced products in factories built abroad, achieve the integration of raw materials and downstream production, and to some extent alleviate the contradiction of overcapacity in China.
9) We attach great importance to environmental protection and safety, wastewater and waste gas treatment technology, energy conservation, promote advanced energy-saving processes and new processes, adhere to the green development of the entire industry chain, in order to further reduce costs and improve market competitiveness.
10) Intensify monitoring of trade frictions and maintain industrial security. Develop practical and feasible warning mechanisms to detect abnormal product trade situations in advance and actively resolve possible trade frictions. Reasonably utilize trade remedy measures to maintain industrial security and counteract the protectionism of foreign abuse of trade remedy measures. Track and evaluate the development status and trends of the products involved, adjust and improve relevant supporting policies and measures
11) To strengthen the construction of the talent team, in addition to leading figures in science and technology, it is also necessary to enhance the technical level of blue collar grassroots operators, and to reasonably match high, medium, and low talents in order to achieve the industrialization pace of related technologies. In addition to R&D personnel, we should also accelerate the training of personnel in marketing, foreign trade, grassroots operation analysis and testing, and form a talent team that integrates industry, academia and research.
