Rare earth soars in energy-saving lamp industry nerves

The price of rare earth soared within a month! At present, rare earth single-oxide cerium oxide with a purity of ≥99.99% has reached 19 million yuan/ton, which is already more than twice the price of silver. The price of the product in the first half of May was only 8.2 million yuan / ton, an increase of more than 10 million yuan / ton in just 1 month. In addition, antimony oxide and antimony oxide also increased by more than one time. The head of the purchasing department of a well-known lighting company in Zhejiang recently stated that as a downstream user of rare earths, the price of rare earth tricolor phosphors for energy-saving lamps is changing almost every day, and it is difficult to buy. At present, many lighting companies in Zhejiang have stopped producing fluorescent lamps.

Rare earth one day price "embarrassed" enterprise

The national rare earth work conference that ended on the 14th made Hangzhou Lin'an energy-saving lamp companies thousands of miles away. Because rare earth is an important raw material for energy-saving lamp light sources, the most used electric light source is a rare earth trichromatic fluorescent lamp.

“Rare earth can be said to be a price per day.” Luo Chongyuan, marketing manager of Hangzhou Yuzhong Gaohong Lighting Appliance Co., Ltd., said, “Now it's difficult for companies to accept orders. For more than a week, I can't quote anything.” Yuzhong Gaohong Lighting is Linan, the largest energy-saving lamp manufacturer, was affected by the rise in fluorescent lamp raw materials. Their energy-saving lamp product prices rose by about 10% from last year. Such as an original energy-saving lamp 3.9 yuan, the latest price rose to 4.3 yuan. "This is not too much. Some enterprise product prices are two or three percent."

As the main raw material of three-color phosphors in the energy-saving lamp fitting capillary tube, rare earth accounts for 75% of the raw material. It is reported that before the prices of three-phosphor phosphors rose, the proportion of phosphors in the total cost of energy-saving lamps accounted for only 10%. After the price increase of phosphors, the cost of energy-saving lamps was greatly increased.

Lin'an has become a well-known gathering place for energy-saving lamps in the country. Currently there are more than 300 energy-saving lamp companies with an output value of 5.8 billion yuan. It is estimated that nearly a quarter of the 10,000 tons of phosphor powder produced in the country was absorbed by Lin'an.

Price soaring damage to the industrial chain

From the price of “cabbage” to “silver price,” rare earth also caused damage to the domestic industrial chain. Recently, a high-level source of a large rare earth smelting and separation company in Ganzhou said that despite the high price of rare earth, many traders are still reluctant to ship.

The above-mentioned person in charge of the purchasing department of Zhejiang Lighting Company stated that fluorescent lamp companies need to add rare earth raw materials, and many small businesses cannot support the cost pressure and can only stop production. Minmetals Donglin Lighting (Jiangxi) Co., Ltd., a general manager, said that due to the current supply of fluorescent powder, many companies have stopped working, the impact of the second half for the entire industry will gradually be reflected.

“Many enterprises in Ganzhou are increasing their sales revenues, and the market is not entirely a state of “having price and no market”.” According to the person in charge of the above-mentioned Yanzhou Rare Earth Smelting and Separating Company, there are some companies in Zhangzhou that are “for money only” and do not ship. , And some companies only ship to high-end customers, resulting in a lot of downstream small business raw materials "out of stock."

“Although phosphors are very important, NdFeB is the main material that drives the development of the entire rare earth industrial chain.” Wang Caifeng, head of the preparation group of the China Rare Earth Industry Association, said that rare earth output is mainly fluctuating around neodymium-iron-boron materials. Currently, fluorescent lamps, The amount of rare earths used in hydrogen storage materials is decreasing. With the advancement of technology, there are also many materials that are continuously replaced. However, there is currently no material available for replacement of neodymium-iron-boron materials.

Or trigger industry reshuffle

Raw materials for raw materials can stay in the market and continue to be bullish. It also sparked the pain of the energy-saving lamp industry. Some small businesses are unsustainable and have to stop production. The reporter found a company office phone that had previously been contacted by the energy-saving lamp. It was actually "this number has been shut down."

The skyrocketing growth of three-color phosphors has clearly aggravated the chaos in the energy-saving lamp industry. “This will lead to more companies using low-cost halogen powder to subsume well. The cost of halogen powder is less than that of three-color phosphors. One of the industry sources, who asked not to be named, said: "Compared with the energy-saving lamps using three-color phosphors, the efficacy and life span of the halogen powder lamps must be greatly reduced."

Weng Maoyuan, chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Lighting Association, believes that it is absolutely impossible to expect phosphor prices to return to the past. However, to strengthen the docking of upstream and downstream industries and negotiate prices is a feasible path to solve the problem. In the long run, the industry reshuffle triggered by the sharp rise in raw material prices is not necessarily a bad thing. Some companies with good reputation and strong products can overcome difficulties and laugh at the end as long as they continue to strengthen management and do their own work well.