Prospects of China’s Titanium Industry

Driven by the rapid growth of China’s economy,the output of titanium sponge grew dramatically between 2000 and 2007.In 2008,as the global financial crisis intensified,developed countries plunged into states of recession and the global economy slowed down,forcing China’s titanium industry into a period of adjustment.China’s output of titanium sponge fell dramatically in 2008 and saw negative growth in 2009.In 2011,China’s titanium industry will climb out of these adjustment and enter a phase of recovery growth.The titanium processing material industries also experienced similar fortunes between 2000 and 2010.

China imports titanium sponge and other forged titanium (ingot or blank),as well as sheets and welded tubes,and exports titanium rods,thick plates and seamless rolled tubes,etc.

Compared with national outputs of 50,000 tons of titanium sponge and 30,000 tons of titanium processing materials,an import or export volume of less than 10,000 tons of titanium sponge and titanium processing materials is relatively insignificant.This shows the domestic focus of the current titanium industry in China.

Demand is the intrinsic and decisive factor for industrial development.In the 21st century,China’s economy has soared,and there has been increasing demand for titanium sponge and titanium processing materials,which has had a direct knock-on effect in driving the titanium industry.However,since the major recessions in developed economies in the second half of 2008,,the speed of growth of China’s economy has slowed,as did demand for titanium.Compared with titanium sponge,processing titanium materials is lagging behind.

Tables 1 and 2 list China’s demand for titanium sponge and titanium processing materials in recent years.From these tables,we can see that demand for titanium in China slid in both 2004 and 2008,mainly attributable to the rapid rebound of the global titanium industry in 2004 and China not being able to either increase output of titanium sponge promptly or purchase titanium sponge,thus damaging demand.The drop of demand in 2004 was caused by limited supplies,while in 2008,it was attributable to poor demand as a result of the financial crisis.

Table 1.China’s demand for titanium sponge since 2002 Unit: tons

Table 2.China’s demand for titanium processing materials since 2002 Unit: ton

According to statistics by the China Titanium Association,titanium in China is mainly used in the fields of chemical industry (48.0%),aerospace (10.1%),electricity (8.1%),sports &leisure (7.0%),metallurgy (6.6%) and salt production (5.3%).In China,titanium processing materials are mostly used in chemical industry.In fact,in each of 2007,2008 and 2009,China’s consumption of titanium for chemical use exceeded 10,000 tons,reaching 10,316 tons,11,556 tons and 11,918 tons,respectively.