According to data from the GACC, China's passenger car tyre export volume reached 244,300 tonnes in December 2023, jumped by 1.84% on month and 15.19% on year, with the average export price at Yuan 2,677.69/tonne, dropped by 0.12% on month and 3.98% on year. The cumulative export volume landed 2,863,600 tonnes over January-December 2023, improved by 20.29% year-on-year.
Source: GACC & OilChem
China's passenger car tyre import volume was 5,800 tonnes in December 2023, declined by 17.90% on month while up 20.19% on year, with the average import price settled at Yuan 7,464.63/t, increased by 15.48% on month and 14.04% on year. The cumulative import volume was 69,000 tonnes over January-December 2023, down by 15.48% year-on-year.
Source: GACC & OilChem
The net exports hit 238,500 tonnes in December 2023, grew by 2.44% month-on-month and 15.08% year-on-year, with ample export orders for semi-steel radial tyre enterprises.
Source: GACC & OilChem
In terms of exports to different continents in 2023, the export volume to Europe stopped falling to rebounding by 19.21% to 104,800 tonnes in December, especially with a rise of 8.44% in Russia, since Chinese cargo ships can go through freely with the gradual easing of the Red Sea situation.
While in the meantime, in the light of data released by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, the China Container Freight Index (CCFI) mounted by 12.91% to 1,287.49 as of January 19 2024. The sharp rise in prices has then dampened customer demand for shipping, thus restraining the rebound in passenger car tyre exports to some degree.
Source: GACC & OilChem
Source: Shanghai Shipping Exchange
In addition, the export volume may continue growing to around 250,000 tonnes in January 2024, mainly because the orders will be ample due to enterprises' stockpiling for the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, and nearly 20 days of transportation time for exports to Europe may be saved as the Houthis have offered assurances to Chinese freighters entering the Red Sea. Although overall rising shipping price may restrain growth in exports, Chinese passenger car tyre export volume will significantly improve based on relatively low exports of last year.
Written by Cynthia Xin, xinyue@oilchem.net
Edited by Navy Liu, liuchuanjun@mysteel.com
