The cost of raw materials is soaring. What should I do?

The production chain of the manufacturing industry is long and complicated, which is easily affected by the domestic and international environmental factors.

In the past two years, because of the repeated epidemic, the price of international commodities has fluctuated several times, which has had a great impact on the domestic manufacturing industry. Since the beginning of this year, the domestic epidemic has a large, wide, and frequent characteristics. The domestic economy has been contracted, impacts, and the overlapping pressure of weakening, coupled with the intensification of international geopolitical conflicts, loose global liquidity, and speculative hype of the financial market. A variety of factors are intertwined, and commodity prices in the domestic market continue to rise.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that since the end of last year, the manufacturing production index and raw material inventory index have shown a downward trend, and the delivery time of the manufacturing raw materials suppliers has fallen slowly, and the purchase price of the main raw materials has increased significantly. Purchase price indexes and factory price indexes of oil, coal and other fuel processing, black metal smelting and pressure -delay processing, non -ferrous metal smelting and pressure -delay processing have exceeded 70.0%, which brings great cost pressure to the middle and lower reaches industries.

The price of raw materials has continued to rise, and the manufacturing industry continues to pressure. How can the problem crack?

The rise in raw material prices has obvious impact

△ On April 15th, in Chongqing Qingshan Industrial Co., Ltd., intelligent equipment was in operation.

The rise in raw material prices has the greatest impact on industries that mainly depend on imported raw materials and imported accessories. Among them, the impact of the booming new energy vehicle industry in recent years is even more impact.

Affected by factors such as the global epidemic and international geopolitical instability, since the second half of last year, the supply of raw materials required for the production accessories of upstream supply manufacturers in the new energy vehicle industry has been blocked, and the cost has continued to rise. In addition, the epidemic cycle has great uncertainty, bringing significantly fluctuations and lift in relevant costs.

In early 2021, the price of lithium carbonate of the main raw materials of power batteries was less than 50,000 yuan/ton. Earlier this year, it rose to about 250,000 yuan/ton. "Tremendous stress".

Since the end of last year, many power battery companies have to adopt real -time updates of product quotes, clarify price increases, shorten the account period, and re -negotiate orders to respond to rising raw material prices. It is difficult to maintain the amplitude. While continuing the bargaining of the OEM and battery companies this year, the pressure is transmitted to the terminal car price. Since the first quarter of this year, most new energy vehicle companies have adjusted their models, ranging from thousands to 30,000 yuan.

Jiang Li, secretary of the board of directors of Ningde Times, told reporters that when facing upstream price increases, the company preferred to carry cost pressure. Since this year, the price of battery raw materials has exceeded the company's affordability, and the company has to dynamically adjust the price.

The relevant person in charge of another power battery manufacturer said that they had risen once this year. I did not expect that the price of lithium carbonate raw materials this year has further increased, and it is difficult for enterprises to afford higher prices. The amount of increase can maintain the survival of the enterprise.

"In addition to the continuous rise in costs such as battery materials, the prices of metals and steel such as automotive chips and aluminum alloys have been rising since this year, and the increase in production costs such as logistics transportation and inventory costs has led to an increase in overall procurement costs of enterprises." Yu Yuwu analyzed the chairman of the Chinese Automobile Engineering Society, "Not only does the production of the automotive industry require battery raw materials, but the development of other industries also requires such materials. The height of uncertainty has broken the original global supply chain order, and the further deterioration of the overall cost increase. "

The situation in the fields of other raw materials is not optimistic. Since the beginning of this year, dozens of imported raw materials have continued to soar, causing multiple industries in China's manufacturing industry to be under pressure. Since the second quarter, many chemical companies such as BASF, Mitsui Chemistry, SK Chemistry, and Ex Sen Mobil have issued a letter to announce the increase in prices, up to 6060 yuan/ton, and the increase can be described as amazing. Recently, the overseas titanium pink giant Teno issued a price adjustment letter, saying that starting from July 1, 2022, the price of all titanium pinks sold to the Asia -Pacific region will increase the price of $ 300/ton. The continuous high operation of the price of leading products brings haze to the operation and cost of domestic downstream manufacturing enterprises.

The Yangtze River Delta is an important distribution center for the manufacturing industry in China. In a furniture company in Huzhou, Zhejiang, the price of iron frames, sponges, plastics and other raw materials commonly used in furniture has risen by more than 100 % in a short year or two. For about 20 %, the price increased to furniture directly caused some orders to be canceled, and the furniture produced in the warehouse could not be sent out.

The person in charge of a small home appliance manufacturer in Dongguan, Guangdong, the capital of Guangdong, told the reporter of the China Report that 200,000 orders were canceled in the first quarter of this year, which is equivalent to one -third of the annual orders. The chemical materials required for home appliances rose from about 10,000 yuan/ton to 30,000 yuan/ton. The price of electronic components rose 3 times, and plastic raw materials rose by 40%, so many orders could not discharge production. "It is difficult for companies to lose their business without increasing prices. It is also difficult for many customers to cancel the order company." The person in charge of this manufacturer faces a dilemma. As a global country of bicycle production and consumption, the output of the entire vehicle accounts for about 60%of the world's total output, and the Chinese bicycle industry is also troubled by rising raw material prices. "Electronic materials, chips, plastics, steel, aluminum alloy and other important raw materials for production are rising from last year to now." Relevant person in charge of the well -known "Phoenix" brand bicycle production enterprise told reporters The price has doubled, the price of aluminum has also risen by 90%, and the price of steel rose similarly. The average procurement cost has increased by 30%. The price of a bicycle has increased by nearly 100 yuan. The high -end bicycles of imported parts and electric vehicles with lithium batteries have increased higher.

"In the context of slowing production rhythm and reduction of orders, raw materials increased the price of price increases." Jiang Ze, the head of an electronic equipment company in Hangzhou, told reporters, "We have been paying close attention to the price fluctuations of the commodities, and we are actively doing a good job. Communication with suppliers. In order to alleviate the pressure of rising raw material costs as possible, the company reached an agreement with suppliers in procurement to make long -term raw material reserves and lower the cost through centralized procurement. Too big, we dare not stock up too much, randomly respond to the basis of insurance delivery. "

According to analysis, the integrated supply chain of the electromechanical and electrical supply chain is mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta (Shenzhen, Dongguan) and other places. The problem of smoothness was once prominent, affecting the cost of raw material.

Chen Shihua, deputy secretary -general of the China Automobile Industry Association, believes that the price of raw materials in this round of raw materials has risen in conventional, departing from normal supply and demand relationships. There are some unreasonable competition in accumulating and deliberately raising prices, which requires severe blows.

Li Jin, chief researcher of the Chinese Institute of Enterprise Research, told reporters that, according to his survey, the price of raw materials has risen. In the lower reaches, the bargaining and digestive ability are relatively weak, and the impact is relatively large.

Multi -priced and unintentional guarantee stable prices

△ On April 12, in a optical lens manufacturing enterprise in Shishi, Quanzhou, Fujian, technical workers were busy in the workshop.

The rise in raw material prices on the serious impact of the industry has also attracted great attention from relevant ministries and commissions. The country has previously held a meeting to make a special deployment, asking multiple measures to help SMEs to respond to the impact of raw material price increases.

Relevant departments such as the National Development and Reform Commission have also jointly combined to combat hoarding accumulation and raising prices. At the same time, measures were introduced to help SMEs respond to rising costs.

Xin Guobin, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, also stated before that the next step of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will promote the progress of domestic resource development, continue to resolutely crack down on unclear competition behaviors such as accumulation of stories and speculation. Return to reason.

"From the perspective of the supply and demand of important raw materials upstream, taking lithium resources as an example, about 65%of my country’ s lithium resources need to be imported, but in recent years, the production capacity of lithium mines and salt lakes in my country has gradually enlarged, domestic lithium raw material manufacturers and power batteries Production companies are also in a global layout. In the short term, there is no need to be too nervous in the long run. "Chen Shihua told reporters that the China Automobile Industry Association has incorporated raw materials in the monitoring horizons since the second half of 2021, conducting intensive investigations, and industry -related related to the industry Enterprises communicate information, while actively reporting the relevant situation to the government authorities at the same time. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in conjunction with the National Development and Reform Commission and the General Administration of Market Supervision, organized a symposium on the lithium industry operation symposium and the material increase of materials, and took relevant measures in a targeted manner.

Ouyang Ming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that in the long run, the lithium resource reserves required by my country's manufacturing industry are sufficient and the amount of mining can continue to increase. Affected by factors such as government regulation, upstream layout and increase in supply, lithium carbonate prices will gradually stabilize, so so The supply and demand of raw materials such as power batteries and other industries will not be long -term, but it may take two or three years to restore the balance of supply and demand. At present, the mining of international lithium ore represented by Australia has been accelerated. Other Indonesian nickel projects, Congo cobalt projects, Yichun lithium projects, Yichang materials integrated projects, Guoxuan Hi -tykic lithium carbonate projects have continued to advance, and production capacity has gradually been released. The supply of raw materials in my country's manufacturing industry provides great guarantees.

Lin Nianxiu, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that it will strengthen the construction of resource guarantee systems such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and continuously grasp the stable price and accelerate the construction of a diversified resource supply system for development and procurement and domestic and international mutual benefit.

At the same time, local governments are also introducing targeted measures to help small and medium -sized enterprises through difficulties.

For example, in Zhejiang, the government sent a multi -road joint enterprise commissioner to visit the field to understand the dilemma of the enterprise. These measures are gradually taking effect to help enterprises pass the difficulties. The Guangdong Provincial People's Government issued the "Guangdong Provincial Action Plan for Promoting the Stable Economic Economic Growth of the Industrial Economy", which clearly stated that it is necessary to implement actions such as safeguarding and stable prices, closely monitor the supply and demand and price changes in the market of raw materials, and expand the channels for the diversified resources of industrial enterprises. Class support measures help enterprises to improve quality and efficiency. In Dongguan, Guangdong, the government has strengthened various financing services to SMEs on the one hand; on the other hand, with the industry associations, such as industry associations, etc. to create a unified procurement platform to help enterprises choose low -priced suppliers through open and transparent comparison The effect of flatting market prices. Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, is a small and medium -sized enterprise with a uniform guarantee of small and medium -sized enterprises exported to US $ 5 million to ensure that the company's risks are not troubled by risks such as customers who are not affected by prices. Accelerate the pace of innovation and transformation out of the predicament

△ On April 1st, workers rushed out export products in the production workshop production workshop production workshop in Qingdao Meilai Rail Co., Ltd.

During the survey, the reporter found that in the face of the rise in various raw materials, some companies have put pressure on pressure, accelerate the pace of innovation and transformation, and have risen the rising costs through innovative research and development, and find the way out of the predicament for enterprises.

Some manufacturing companies have begun to cooperate with big data platforms to reform their own products. A person in charge of a big data technology enterprise in Shenzhen told reporters that many manufacturing companies in the Pearl River Delta actively contacted them and carried out consumer portraits through supply chain big data, and were close to new products with high added value of consumer demand.

"The key to fighting the iron itself, the key to resisting the price increase of raw materials is to increase the added value of the company to make products." Liu Ben, the person in charge of a freezer manufacturer in Qingdao, Shandong, told the reporter of "China Report" that the freezer products produced in the past The main thing is cheap, and it is profitable. The export price is between 1,000 and 2,000 yuan. It is difficult to sustain when raw materials rose several rounds. Faced with the pressure of survival, they took the initiative to contact domestic universities and industry experts to re -plan their products, and applied for the technical reform support funds of 20 million yuan. They quickly developed and developed low -temperature cabinet products for international vaccine transportation. Products that are strictly required for transportation are put into the market. He introduced that the price of a large -scale low -temperature cabinet product in the international market exceeds 20,000 yuan, and its sensitivity to raw material prices is much lower.

Under the raw material bullish market, the use of advanced technologies to recover valuable metals can be used to relieve relevant pressure. At present, most battery companies, including Ningde Times, and major vehicle companies, are starting to deploy battery recycling business. Some manufacturers have also increased scientific research investment and use innovative methods such as developing sodium ion batteries to deal with them. The restraint of price increases.

In this regard, Xiang Li Bin, deputy minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said in an interview with reporters: "Recently, the price of metal raw materials such as lithium and nickels has risen sharply. With resource mining and refinement, technological research and development innovation, and recycling system construction to promote technological innovation, more support the research on key technologies of basic frontiers and common technologies. Practice has repeatedly proved that no matter how the raw material market changes, it is a key variable in fierce competition, whoever is in fierce competition, who is Holding the cow nose of scientific and technological innovation and taking the step of scientific and technological innovation, who can occupy the opportunity and win the advantage. "

Text: "China Report" reporter Wang Zhe

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