Sales of carbon black increases particularly in Asia. China will soon export more soot than introduce. The automotive industry is the largest sales market for carbon black. “Above all in the manufacture of tyres, soot is important: in this application area, carbon black were used more than 7.8 million tons in 2011”, explains Oliver Kutsch, Managing Director of Ceresana. Developments in the automotive industry have a strong impact on the tire market and determine the usage of many rubber products.

On average, the carbon black manufacturer benefited from the positive development for vehicles over the past eight years. In addition to the newly produced vehicles, the total is another important influence: In 2010, the brand has been exceeded by 1 billion vehicles. Dominant market: Asia-Pacific the Asia-Pacific region will be strongest growth drivers for carbon black. Here, consumption and production market researchers expect an average increase of over 4.5% per year. The market is dominated by China, where more than 30% of all carbon blacks are used. In addition, this region in the future will become a major net exporter: while China imported more carbon black in the past, exports will weigh over due to the massive expansion of capacity in the next few years. Risk factor the price of the raw material cost and prices of carbon black are influenced to a large extent by the raw material costs and vary with fluctuating oil prices. The global increase of in oil prices of approximately $ 27 per barrel in 2003 to more than $108 in 2011 resulted in a significant increase in the rates: carbon black soared in almost 130% over the same period. Even with a weaker rise in production costs in the next few years, the pressure will increase on the margins of the carbon black manufacturer. The study in the near future: Chapter 1 provides a presentation and analysis of the global market for carbon black (soot) including forecasts until 2019.