1、 Industrial chain
The upstream of graphite electrode industrial chain is mainly petroleum coke, asphalt coke and coal tar pitch; The midstream includes ultra-high power graphite electrode, high power graphite electrode, ordinary graphite electrode, carbon brick and special graphite; In the downstream, steel-making, silicon smelting and yellow phosphorus smelting are carried out through ultra-high power electric arc furnace, high-power electric arc furnace, ordinary electric furnace and blast furnace.
2、 Upstream analysis
1. Needle coke
Needle coke is a new type of high-quality carbon material with silver gray appearance. In recent years, thanks to China’s economic development, the market demand for needle coke has been released, and the scale of the industry has expanded accordingly. The output of needle coke in China has achieved explosive growth, exceeding 700000 tons in 2021. It is expected to continue to grow in 2022, with the output reaching 930000 tons.
2. Petroleum coke
The capacity utilization rate of petroleum coke is low, but it gradually picks up. Petroleum coke is a by-product of petroleum refining and chemical industry. There is no capacity concept in itself. The output of petroleum coke basically depends on the output of petroleum refining and chemical industry. In June 2022, the national petroleum coke production was 2.489 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.8%. From January to June 2022, the national petroleum coke production was 14.722 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1%.
3、 Midstream analysis
China is the world’s largest supplier of graphite electrodes, and the problem of overcapacity is serious. In 2021, China’s graphite electrode production capacity reached 1.717 million tons, accounting for 65% of the global supply. However, the actual output is only 1.009 million tons, with a corresponding capacity utilization rate of 59%. Although it is significantly improved compared with 2020, it is still at a low level.
4、 Downstream analysis
Steel smelting is the main application field of graphite electrode, accounting for about 80% of the total consumption of graphite electrode. Followed by yellow phosphorus and silicon smelting, accounting for 4.8% and 4.1% respectively.
Post time: Aug-05-2022