Carbon Fibre Price Trend and Forecast

Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Carbon Fibre in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Carbon Fibre Price Trend for the Q1 of 2024

Carbon fiber's industrial growth is driven by its lightweight, high-strength properties, making it integral in aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy sectors. In aerospace, it reduces aircraft weight, enhancing fuel efficiency, while automotive applications improve performance and fuel economy.

Carbon Fibre Price Chart

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The renewable energy sectors also utilize it in wind turbine blades and lightweight structures for solar panels. Additionally, its use in sporting goods and construction reinforces demand. Since the past quarters, the advancements in manufacturing processes and increasing environmental concerns have further propelled its industrial usage, positioning carbon fiber as a pivotal material in various industrial applications.

During the first quarter of 2024, the Indian government plans to initiate carbon fiber manufacturing domestically, aiming to replace metal components in the aerospace, civil engineering, and defense sectors. The demand for the commodity thus skyrocketed in the region, supporting an uptrend in its pricing trajectory. However, the reliance of the Indian automotive sector on imports from countries like the US, France, Japan, and Germany might move up the import costs. But the rise in the number of manufacturing investments, likely to bear fruits by 2025 aims to enhance self-reliance and strengthen India's position in high-tech industries.

Additionally, souring of trading relations with Europe due to the imposed European Union carbon tax on steel, alloy and metal products increased the scarcity of raw materials in the region, further driving up the momentum of the carbon fibre market in the first quarter of 2024.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price of Carbon Fibre is estimated to grow with the development in sales and overall market dynamics of downstream industries such as the automotive and steel sectors, particularly in Asian countries.

Carbon Fibre Price Trend for the Second Half of 2023

Many market factors affect the cost of carbon fibre, such as demand from wind energy, automobiles, and aerospace. Additionally, the market dynamics of supply-side elements like raw material availability and production capability also exert a significant influence on the market. Carbon fibre prices are further impacted by technological developments that result in more effective manufacturing techniques and the creation of stronger and lighter carbon fibre alternatives.

During the H2 of 2023, China claimed to have achieved mass production capability for ultra-strong carbon fibre, potentially disrupting international monopolies in aerospace and defense materials and cutting down its reliance on expensive imports, thus stabilizing the carbon fibre prices in the region.

Overcoming technological obstacles and US-Japan export restrictions, China has expanded its carbon fibre industry, representing one-third of global production. Changsheng Technology's breakthrough enabled the mass production of high-performance T1000 carbon fibre, which is crucial for advanced military applications.

This development further increased the interest of overseas players in this sector and increased the rate of export volumes. However, concerns arise among US defense officials about China's stealth fighter capabilities, given the strategic importance of carbon fibre.

Beyond defense, carbon fibre demand surged in hydrogen energy and wind power sectors also, though challenges like overcapacity and anti-globalization sentiments persisted throughout the quarter. Despite uncertainties in the timeline and technological research impediments, China aims to leverage this breakthrough for industrial expansion, exemplified by four Chinese firms ranking among the top global carbon fibre producers.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price of Carbon Fibre is estimated to attain stagnancy in the next quarters, with the Asian countries achieving self-dependency and raising their in-house production of carbon fibre.

Carbon Fibre Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

Carbon Fibre is primarily consumed by the manufacturing industries in the aerospace, military, and automotive sectors. So, the prices vary according to the downstream demands posed by these industries.

The Carbon Fibre market experienced mixed price sentiments throughout the said period. The prices had risen for a long time in the previous quarters owing to the high global inflation and the Russia – Ukraine conflict, which also led to an increase in demand for armed equipment.

As the manufacturing sector restarted after a long halt, the supply increased in the market, which directly impacted the Carbon Fibre price trend. Since the freight mediums started normalizing and new supply chains aided trade, Carbon Fibre prices started stabilizing. Eventually, the prices declined due to the poor purchasing potential of buyers given the rising inflation-hiked bank rates showcasing signs of recession, which further dipped the prices southwards. Overall, the Carbon Fibre prices swung on the lower end of the curve during the discussed time frame.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend for Carbon Fibre are expected to continue fluctuating given the feeble demands and highly uncertain market dynamics.

Carbon Fiber Price Trend for the Second Half of 2022

Asia

In the Asia- Pacific region, the prices declined due to the imposed restrictions to curb the rising covid cases. The region also witnessed a plunging trend in the demand from the end-user industries and due to this the producers saw a rise in the level of inventories and were thus forced to cut operation costs.

The low demand and reduced offtakes led to the falling trajectory of the prices of carbon fibre. In the fourth quarter, due to the limited availability of feedstock the imports from Russia fell and destocking practices were followed by producers to deal with rising inventories. This kept the prices of carbon fibre on the negative side during the said period.

Europe

In the third quarter, the prices of carbon fibre remained stable as the demand from end-user rubber industries was persistent. The prices, however, suffered from the rising inflation rates and cuts in production costs but no considerable effect was seen.

The initial months of the fourth quarter were favourable for the price trend of carbon fibre as the prices increased significantly. The sudden rise was due to the increase in the cost of natural gas supply and feedstock prices. The prices, however, declined again in the last month attributing to the reduction in the profit margins by the manufacturers to increase the offtakes.

North America

The North American region saw a fall in the prices of carbon fibre as many plants were forced to shut down and domestic inventories went south. The feedstock outrages and low production rates amid dwindling demand led to a declining trajectory in the price trend of the commodity.

In the fourth quarter, the prices were somehow firm as the inflation rates and feedstock prices supported the growing prices. However, disruptions in the supply chain, fall in upstream costs, and reduced offtakes negatively impacted the price trend for carbon fibre.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the prices of Carbon Fiber are likely to decline in the upcoming quarters. The demand from the end-user sector seems to remain weak globally and with rising inflation the prices are expected to continue a downward trajectory.

Carbon Fibre Price Trend For the First Half of 2022

Carbon fibres are competitive and cost-effective compared to metals. Due to their excellent mechanical and chemical properties, carbon fibre demand has constantly been increasing globally. The final cost of carbon fibres not only depends on the material cost but also heavily on the manufacturing process.

The price of carbon fibres can vary depending upon the raw material used. For polyacrylonitrile(PAN)-based carbon fibre, the cost of PAN raw silk is 11.11 USD/kg, which accounts for 51% of the production cost, followed by carbonization and pre-oxidation processes which cost around 5.12 USD/kg and 3.40 USD/kg respectively. Based on a gross profit margin of 30%, the price of PAN-based carbon fibre averaged 28 USD/kg in the Chinese domestic market.

In the Chinese market, the price of domestic carbon fibre averaged 180 RMB/MT, while that of T300 grade 12K carbon fibre averaged 180-200 RMB/MT. The domestic T300 grade 24/25K carbon fibre market price averaged 150-155 yuan/kg, while that of the domestic T700 grade 12K carbon fibre market price averaged 260-270 yuan/kg. Hence, the price trend of carbon fibres remained strengthened throughout the first half of the said year.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Carbon Fibre. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.