The second edition of “TiO2 Pigment Annual Review” has just been released by independent industry experts TZMI.

VICTORIA PARK, Australia - The second edition of “TiO2 Pigment Annual Review” has just been released by independent industry experts TZMI. This 2011 edition provides industry participants with an overview of the global titanium pigment market. It extends beyond the scope of TZMI’s “Mineral Sands Annual Review” by carefully examining the structure and market dynamics of the global titanium pigment industry.
“TiO2 Pigment Annual Review” has been developed as a benchmark publication to provide information to the sector. TZMI presents its own views, numbers and forecasts within this publication, contrasting against alternative publicly available information.

The 2011 “TiO2 Pigment Annual Review” details the titanium supply chain, manufacturing technologies, characteristics, demand, supply, trade, pigment plant economics, and trends and outlooks. Trade data review, producer profiles and pigment plant locaters are also included as appendices.

In the study, TZMI reports that the TiO2 industry is currently rebounding from years of persistently low margins, and this trend appears likely to continue for several years, provided a macro-economic calamity such as the 2008 global financial crisis does not recur. TZMI expects global demand for pigment to grow by 4.4 percent CAGR in the period 2010 to 2013, with demand in North America growing by 2.2 percent and 6.7 percent in Asia-Pacific. Total global demand is expected to grow from 5.31 million metric tons in 2010 to 6.05 million metric tons in 2013.

The first quarter of 2009 turned out to be one of the worst the industry ever encountered, down 34 percent compared to the first quarter in 2008. As production eventually dropped below demand, the supply chain de-stocked. However, the recovery in 2010 was firm, with trade volumes increasing to 3.6 million metric tons in 2010, or 68 percent of global demand.

Capacity growth during the next 10 years is expected to be driven by above-global-average demand growth in Asia-Pacific. TZMI expects global capacity to grow by 4.7 percent in the period 2010 to 2013, with 65 percent of new capacity being installed in Asia-Pacific.

Analysis also covers further stress on the market in 2011 due to the security of supply of feedstocks. Feedstock producers have reacted with a spate of price increases. In some cases, TZMI believes pigment producers will be unable to source adequate feedstock supplies and will be forced to temporarily idle or reduce output. Similarly, TiO2 producers are likely to be unable to meet the demands of all of their customers, as the lingering effects of 2009 capacity shutdowns and the shortage of feedstocks limit their ability to meet market demand. Furthermore, there is no available inventory from which to supply short-term customer needs as has been the case in prior years.

For more information about the report, visit http://www.tzmi.com.