UPDATED 2020 PRICES
HEMATITE PRICES
Due to oil price drop in April 2020, and also as Crona virus spread over the world and is effecting all markets globally, bitumen prices dropped sharply in April 2020 and it is anticipated to decrease more in coming months.
Iran as the biggest producer of bitumen in the Middle East and a key player in the global market, has decreased the VB prices and FOB prices dropped to 175-185 USD per MT.
China Bitumen prices dropped to 2032 CNY/MT on the last week of April 2020.
HEMATITE POWDER PRICES | THE YEAR 2020
At the below table you can see updated weekly prices for Hematite Powder API in the year 2020 | The latest updated price: Week 1, June 2020
Prices based on FOB Middle East USD/MT – 1 MT Jumbo Bag
| MONTH / WEEK | WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APRIL | 220 USD | 210 USD | 210 USD | 185 USD |
| MARCH | 260 USD | 265 USD | 265 USD | 260 USD |
| FEBRUARY | 280 USD | 285 USD | 280 USD | 280 USD |
| JANUARY | 290 USD | 290 USD | 285 USD | 290 USD |
HEMATITE PRICE TRENDS
Bitumen Outlook
The bitumen market is anticipated to register a CAGR of more than 4% during the forecast period. Bitumen is widely used as a binding organic material, made from the by-products of refined crude oil. Bitumen is used in road construction, as it is easy to produce, reusable, non-toxic, and a strong binder.
- Increasing road construction and repair activities and demand from commercial and domestic building constructions are augmenting the growth of the market studied.
- Increasing environmental concerns are likely to hinder the market’s growth.
- Robust growth in construction activities in the Asia-Pacific region is projected to act as an opportunity for the market in future.
Key Market Trends
Increasing Demand Due to Increasing Road Construction Activities
- Most of the bitumen consumed is processed into asphalt for road construction. Asphalt is a mixture of rock aggregates and bitumen. Bitumen serves as a binding agent and thus, is responsible for the stability of asphalt.
- Depending on the type of bitumen or composition of the mixture used, asphalt roads can be made suitable for regions with different climatic conditions or various levels of operational demands. Asphalt is also used for airport runways, parking decks, and working areas in ports.
- Roadways is one of the key sectors that determines a country’s economic growth. Roads, airport runways, and parking decks are essential services that drive the economic activity by channelizing trade and mobility. Massive investments are required that help in modernization and maintenance of these systems.
- Globally, the infrastructure sector is experiencing stable growth, as a result of increasing government spending to promote local infrastructure. In keeping pace with the growing economic activity and shifting demographic trends, spending on infrastructure activities is largely driven by developing economies in comparison to developed economies
- In developing economies in Asia-Pacific, infrastructure activities are expected to increase significantly, especially in the transportation sector, owing to increasing urbanization and shifting focus toward developing secondary sector in these countries. Furthermore, increasing economic prosperity is driving the infrastructure financing toward consumer sectors, including transportation and manufacturing, which provide and distribute raw materials for consumer goods.
- India’s recent passed budget includes expenditure on development of National Highways, including projects relating to expressways, two-laning of highways, under the National Highways Development Project, six-laning of crowded stretches of the Golden Quadrilateral, a special program for the development of road connectivity in Naxal affected areas, development of Vijayawada—Ranchi road, and for providing last mile connectivity.
- China, on the other hand, is developing New Silk Road, for which the country has already built railway lines between Addis Ababa & Djibouti, Nairobi & Mombasa, and is likely to start projects in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo soon.
- As these sectors have potential to fetch larger investments in near future, the governments of developing economies (such as China and India, among others) are taking initiatives by floating tenders reflecting opportunities in building infrastructure, essential for the growth of a specific sector. Furthermore, the emergence of megacities in both, emerging and developed markets, which reflects the shifting economic and demographic trends, will create enormous need for new infrastructure.
- With such development projects, the demand for bitumen is expected to be the largest in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by Europe.
Asia-Pacific Region is Expected to Dominate the Market
- Asia-Pacific region dominated the global market share. In Asia-Pacific, China is the largest economy, the growth in the country remains high, but is gradually diminishing, as the population is aging and the economy is rebalancing from investment to consumption, manufacturing to services, and external to internal demand.
- China’s 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2021) started in 2016, which was an important year for the country’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) industry as it ventured into new business models, domestically and internationally.
- While the residential sector is enjoying strong recovery, the results for the office, retail, and logistics sectors have been mixed. The office markets in Tier 1 cities (including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen) generally remain healthy and continue to enjoy strong demand for office space, driven by the information technology (IT) and finance sectors.
- Beside this, significant development of rail and road infrastructure by the Chinese government, to withstand the growing industrial and service sectors, has resulted in a significant growth of the Chinese construction industry in the recent years. As the construction industry is dominated by state-owned enterprises, the increased government spending is boosting the industry in the country.
- Moreover, in order to contain the growing greenhouse gas predicaments in the country’s major cities, the country’s national climate commitment calls for 50% of all new buildings constructed by 2020 to be certified as green buildings, while its 13th Five-year Plan prioritizes building efficiency. Following these commitments, the country’s green building sector is expected to increase from 5% to 28% by 2030, representing a USD 12.9 trillion investment opportunity. This is expected to propel the market during the forecast period.
- Overall, the market is projected to grow at a high rate, owing to the rapid growth of the construction industry in the country.
Competitive Landscape
The bitumen market is fragmented with no major players having a dominant share in the market. Key players in the bitumen market include BP PLC, China Petrochemical Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Nynas AB, Shell International BV, Marathon Oil Company, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, and Marathon Oil Company, among others.
Major Players
- BP PLC
- China Petrochemical Corporation
- Exxon Mobil Corporation
- Nynas AB
- Royal Dutch Shell
