In the first quarter, the profits of listed cement companies shrank sharply, the market continued to be weak, the disorderly state of competition and production still dominated, and it will enter the Huangmei season. In the first half of the year, the whole industry will make profits and losses, and the overall situation has been decided. Initiated by large enterprises
on April 10, the price of cement rose by 30 yuan, but the factual investigation was not in place. On April 23, it dropped by 15 yuan. At the end of the month, the second round of price increase was launched again. It is reported that the situation in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River remains unchanged . This shows that the voice of cement prices is not decided by small enterprises, nor in the hands of large enterprises, while cement prices are controlled by the market!
Cement price consists of two parts
: First, production cost: including raw materials, energy consumption, advanced level of technology, labor proficiency, socially necessary labor time for cement production and other factors. The production cost of enterprises varies, and the production cost in the price of cement is generally determined by the average production conditions of the current society, that is, the average production cost.
Profit: The portion of the price that is higher than the cost of production. Market demand determines the size of profits. Supply and demand in the market are often unbalanced. Demand exceeds supply, buyers compete to buy, prices rise, profits rise, supply exceeds demand, sellers compete to sell, prices have to fall, profits naturally shrink. When the price falls below the cost of production, losses occur and the production of enterprises is not compensated. The profits of enterprises are different. The profit in the price of cement refers to the average profit, which is the process of dividing up the profits through competition. Some enterprises obtain profits higher than the average profit, and some enterprises obtain profits lower than the average profit.
Average production cost plus average profit is the average price of social cement , which is relatively stable in a certain period of time and does not fluctuate with people's will. In order to raise prices, any enterprise violates the objective law of prices, even if it rises in the short term, it will not last long, as evidenced by April. Under the same average profit target, if the production cost is lower than the average production cost, the
enterprise will obtain excess profit. On the contrary, enterprises will reduce profits. In a certain equilibrium stage of market supply and demand, the production cost of enterprises determines the size of enterprise profits. Reducing production costs has always been the main proposition of enterprises. The root of over
capacity is the overcapacity of clinker , which compresses the production capacity of clinker and reduces the grinding capacity naturally. The top 50 cement groups in China have a designed clinker production capacity of about 1.38 billion tons. In 2023, the cement output will be 2.023 billion tons. Assuming that 0.67 tons of clinker will be consumed per ton of cement, the consumption of clinker will be 1.355 billion tons, that is to say, the top 50 clinker has met the national demand for cement, and the subsequent closure of clinker enterprises will not be hindered.
Staggering production, reducing production without reducing energy, and curing the symptoms but not the root causes. In the absence of significant reduction in clinker production capacity, there is no way out. When it was first implemented, it played an effective role in alleviating the contradiction between supply and demand and stabilizing the market order. With the declining demand for cement and the weakening effect of peak staggering production, how to effectively reduce clinker production capacity should be placed on the important agenda. At a time when the
industry is facing severe challenges, it is of immeasurable strategic significance and practical utility to actively promote the upgrading of large-scale production equipment and actively promote the energy-saving technological innovation and environmental protection upgrading and transformation of the cement industry, so as to enhance the core competitiveness of cement enterprises and realize the grand blueprint of sustainable development of the industry.
To this end, China Cement Network will hold the 11th China Cement Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Technology Exchange Conference-Equipment Renewal Forum in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province on June 13-14. This forum will gather government leaders, industry technical specialist, scientific research institutions, universities, cement enterprises and equipment suppliers to discuss and analyze the practical path of equipment renewal and green upgrading in the cement industry, so as to promote the industry to move towards a more energy-efficient, greener and environmentally friendly future.
