Driven by the rapid recovery of market demand in sectors such as photovoltaic cells, real estate, automobiles, computers, and communications in the first half of this year, the architectural technical glass industry continued its positive momentum from the previous year, with its major economic indicators significantly improving.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in the first half of the year, the national output of flat glass above designated size reached 510 million weight boxes, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%; the output of tempered glass, laminated glass, and insulated glass reached 430 million square meters, a year-on-year increase of 22.4%. At the same time, the operating revenue of architectural technology glass enterprises above designated size reached 182.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.7%, with a total profit of 26.92 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 140.1%, and a sales profit margin of 14.8%.

A reporter learned from the China Building Materials Federation that due to the impact of the epidemic and changes in the domestic and international situation, the ex-factory price of architectural technical glass products reached a relatively low level in May 2020, and then recovered and rose under the combined effects of product structure, supply and demand, and cost increases. Data shows that in the first half of this year, the price of architectural technical glass increased by 16.9% year-on-year, with flat glass increasing by 48.0% and technical glass increasing by 3.4%. This year's price increase for flat glass is the highest since the unified price of glass was abolished in 1993.

The price increase of architectural technical glass benefits from the industry's diversified development characteristics, effectively creating new market demand. With the cultivation and development of upstream and downstream markets, the market application fields and scope of glass products are continuously expanding, and the product structure is undergoing positive changes. Experts say that in addition to the traditional real estate market, architectural technology glass can also be applied to industrial fields such as automobiles, photovoltaics, electronics, and home appliances. In addition, the proportion of high-quality flat glass used for photovoltaics, automobiles, low-emissivity, and electronic glass has increased, and its price is more than double that of ordinary architectural raw flat glass, leading to an increase in the average price of flat glass.

In recent years, due to the demand for flat glass from photovoltaic glass, the output and sales volume of flat glass have increased significantly. In terms of demand, in the first half of this year, the completed housing area of real estate development enterprises increased by 25.7% year-on-year, and the demand in the real estate market increased significantly. At the same time, the output of major downstream application products such as automobiles, solar cells, microcomputers, and mobile phones increased significantly in the first half of the year, driving an increase in the demand for architectural process glass. In terms of supply, in the first half of this year, provinces with strong output and sales of photovoltaic glass, such as Guangdong, Fujian, Shandong, and Zhejiang, saw a much higher increase in flat glass output than the national average, while the output of flat glass in Hebei and Anhui showed a downward trend.

Despite good market confidence and continued strong production, the architectural technical glass industry still faces pressure in maintaining its growth trend. Since the beginning of this year, the prices of chemical products, which are raw materials, have risen sharply, increasing the production cost of glass. Soda ash is one of the main raw materials for glass production, and its price has risen sharply this year, from around 1,300 yuan/ton in the fourth quarter of last year to around 3,200 yuan/ton currently. Based on the consumption of 10 kilograms of soda ash per weight box of flat glass, the increase in soda ash price alone has increased the production cost of each weight box of flat glass by nearly 20 yuan. In addition, the increase in the prices of natural gas, sand, and other raw materials used in glass production has also increased the production cost of glass products to some extent.

According to a relevant person in charge of the China Building Materials Federation, in recent years, the supply-side structural reform in the architectural technical glass industry has achieved good results, and rapid growth in production and sales has solved the problem of overcapacity.

Currently, the industrial boundaries between flat glass and technical glass are becoming increasingly blurred, and industrial chain extension and diversified development have become the mainstream of business development for architectural technical glass enterprises.

It is expected that the market demand for architectural technology glass will continue to rise steadily in the second half of the year, and the annual price and industrial economic benefits will continue to rise. The export volume of China's architectural technical glass is estimated to reach about 4.5 million tons. A relevant person in charge of the China Building Materials Federation pointed out that in order to prevent market fluctuations and large price fluctuations, relevant departments should strengthen the monitoring and regulation of glass product prices, closely track fluctuations in upstream and downstream markets and changes in the domestic and international situation, and promptly release information on changes in flat glass capacity, raw material prices, and market supply and demand. Actively guide industry enterprises to strengthen self-discipline, guide the industry to orderly and legally exert its production capacity through effective means, and adjust industrial policies in a timely and orderly manner. Through various measures, coordinate the upstream and downstream industrial chains, promote the establishment of a price adjustment mechanism adapted to the supply and demand relationship in the architectural technology glass industry, and ensure stable price fluctuations. Those who take the lead in raising prices will be investigated and dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations to purify the market competition environment.