Rising prices of rare earths cause energy-saving lamp industry to reshuffle into a general trend

Rising prices of rare earths led to a surge in phosphors – something that most domestic energy-saving lamp companies did not expect. As the main raw material of three-color phosphors in energy-saving lamp fittings, the proportion of rare earths accounts for 75% of the raw materials. In the transmission of rare earth prices, the price of phosphors must change, and then direct the price of raw materials for energy-saving lamps. Affected by this, the energy-saving lamp industry, one of the five major industrial industries supported by the city, is generally affected. Its degree of difficulty has even exceeded the employment difficulties, financing difficulties, and power shortage since the beginning of the year, making most of the city's energy-saving lamp companies a bit overwhelmed.

The reporter consulted a website such as China Rare Earth Online and found that in May of last year, the price of phosphor was almost the same as that of previous years, which was about 300 yuan per kilogram. However, beginning in January this year, the price of phosphors continued to rise, rising from 550 yuan per kilogram to 900 yuan at the end of April. It was described by a person in charge of an energy-saving lamp company in the city as "taking a helicopter." As of press release, the price per kilogram has exceeded 1,500 yuan, and the market is not available, that is to say, money can not buy. As the saying goes, things are rare. Since it is called rare earth, your points are also normal. However, it is not true that rare earth was not originally expensive, and the price of phosphors as its isolates is not high.

“Before the end of last year, most of the phosphor production companies in the field were sold at home. At that time, it was the buyer’s market. The phosphor companies asked us to buy it.” As a medium-sized, representative energy-saving lamp company in our city, Lin Anhua Yang Dehua, a veteran of Hong Electronics Co., Ltd., was rather troubled by the sudden increase in phosphor prices. “Our phosphor inventory is only enough for 2-3 months. Now, the market performance is still very scarce and we cannot buy it.”

From the macro level, the country has strategically used rare earths as a strategic resource to strengthen management and control. This is the main reason for price increases. On the one hand, at the beginning of this year, the country once again reduced its rare earth export quotas, and China’s rare earth output ranks at 90% of the world’s dominance, triggering the world’s industries, including China’s relevant industries, to predict the tight supply of rare earths, thereby driving up prices. On the other hand, the state intends to gradually nationalize the mining right of rare earths, limiting the production of important output provinces such as Jiangxi from environmental protection and other aspects, leading to a reduction in production, and further triggering higher prices. In addition, some enterprises that are concerned about the policy and are ready for it have started hoarding rare earths. They have also joined with civil hot money. They use the rare earths as futures to stir up the price of rare earths. They have staged a rare earth version of "Ginger, Your Army," "Garlic, Yours." " "You play with beans" has further exacerbated the chaos of rare earth prices.

In addition, it is worth noting that some companies and experts also pointed out that the original rare earth price is indeed too low. If comprehensive consideration is given to development costs, environmental costs such as vegetation restoration, resource taxes, and other unforeseen expenses, it is appropriate to calculate the price per kilogram of phosphor in the market at a constant price in the range of 800-1,000 yuan.

Faced with raw materials booming companies how to survive?

In the early years, tungsten filament lamps commonly used by all people had less than 8% conversion rate of electricity into light energy. Since the 1980s, our company successfully developed energy-saving lamps that use phosphors to make lamps, and the conversion energy of electric energy into light energy has been converted. Up to 40% or more.

Each type of energy-saving lamp uses a different dose of phosphor depending on the size of the lamp. Taking a 28-watt T5 lamp as an example, the required phosphor dose is about 3 grams. If the original phosphor is 300 yuan per kilogram, the cost of phosphor for each lamp is 0.1 yuan. With a capillary price of 1 yuan, the phosphor costs less than 10%. But now the price of phosphors has increased several times. Calculated at 1,500 yuan per kilogram, if the price is the same, the cost will be 50%. If the finished products of energy-saving lamps do not increase in price, this will be a fatal blow to the enterprises, especially the companies that bear the brunt of the impact. If the situation cannot be reversed, it can be expected that a group of enterprises will not be able to support it for a long time. Faced with soaring prices of raw materials, energy-saving lamps finished product prices have become a popular voice in the industry. However, the concern about price increases such as energy conservation is now gradually being replaced by phosphor powders that have caused the quality of lamps to be compromised.

An industry source told reporters that the cost of halogen powder is less than one-tenth of the phosphors of three primary colors. Although the halogen powder lamp is also an energy-saving product, compared with the three-color phosphor energy-saving lamps, its light efficiency and life span are greatly reduced, and its energy-saving effect is only half of the three-color phosphor energy-saving lamps. When the consumer purchases, it is impossible to distinguish which energy-saving lamp is a halogen powder lamp. It can only be determined that it is a halogen powder lamp when it is discovered that the energy-saving lamp is a halogen powder lamp. Reducing production and waiting for a turnaround has become an alternative for some companies. A group of enterprises such as Jingliang Lighting Appliance Co., Ltd. in the city have reduced the losses and the production workshop has been “half-opened”. In addition, orders can be received less, and some can be slowed down. For these "decisions", many business owners have expressed their helplessness.

Energy-saving lamp industry is faced with reshuffling or making the industry stronger

The winter of energy-saving lamps has just arrived and the LED spring has arrived. In the face of this, the city's energy conservation and other enterprises may have to re-examine and plan the future path. Some experts have analyzed that the rise in rare earth prices has deviated from the normal track, and the industrial chain has been greatly affected. The price of raw materials for high-efficiency energy-saving lamps has risen several times, but the end product has not shown signs of price increases. The use of fluorescent substitutes that are cheaper than phosphors has not been found yet.

The price of raw materials such as phosphors has skyrocketed and it is very likely that cutting corners will become a survival measure for some companies. Replacing phosphors with low-priced halogen powder is a hidden rule for some energy-saving lamp companies. Regardless of whether or not such violations can be rectified in a timely manner, it is only by the market that the reshuffling of the industry after chaos has intensified has become a general trend. It is understood that at present, China has more than 3,000 energy-saving lamps and related companies, in 2010 the output of energy-saving lamps has reached 3.5 billion. There are currently more than 300 energy-saving enterprises in our city, and the output value has reached 5.8 billion yuan. In the national industry, the city's energy-saving lamp industry occupies an important position. The reshuffle of the industry will also have an impact on the city's energy-saving lamp companies. Some unsustainable companies will eventually be eliminated in this market competition.

Weng Maoyuan, president of the Provincial Lighting Association, made it clear at this forum that it is absolutely impossible to expect phosphor prices to return to the past. However, the strengthening of the upstream and downstream industries to negotiate prices is a promising path to solve the problem. However, in the long run, the reshuffle of the industry caused by the soaring price is not necessarily a bad thing. Some companies with good reputation and strong products continue to strengthen their management and do their jobs well. The problems of shoddy and vicious competition existing in the industry itself will also be further manifested in the chaos, and some "black sheep" will certainly be eliminated.

In addition, the LED industry can take advantage of this energy-saving lamp crisis, the competition between the two will intensify. Some experts predict that according to this situation, by the end of the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan”, only Zhejiang Province’s LED output value is expected to reach 30 billion, accounting for one third of the 90 billion estimated output value of the lighting industry. If the energy-saving lamp industry can not seize the opportunity to survive the difficulties, LED output value may account for a greater proportion of the total output value of the lighting industry. With the advantages of LED itself becoming increasingly apparent, and strong support for the development of LED in developed countries such as Japan, energy-saving and other enterprises may be able to make another transition, and further grow up in the competition with Philips and other four major international lighting giants.

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