The first wave of shock in the beginning of 2021 comes from rising raw materials.

At the beginning of the new year, news of the price increase of stainless steel, plastic, glass, zinc alloy and other raw materials is endless, especially the price of steel has soared by nearly 200 per ton, the price of paper has risen by 25%, and the price of composite raw materials has risen to a record high.

At the same time, home furnishing and sanitary ware companies are also facing severe challenges. With the rising costs of raw materials, labor, and processing fees, the price increase of household and sanitary products seems to be a foregone conclusion.

Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics released the Market Price Changes of Important Means of Production in the Circulation Sector in Early February 2021. Compared with the first half of the year, the prices of 23 products have risen, the prices of 23 products have fallen, and the prices of 4 products have remained flat.

According to the monitoring results, there were 23 product price increases in early February 2021. Among them, metal, chemical products, and non-metal building materials related to the household and bathroom fields accounted for 10 types, namely rebar, wire rod, ordinary medium plate, aluminum ingot, pure benzene, styrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyester filament. Among them, the price of pure benzene rose the most, with an increase of 11.7% per ton.

Among the 23 products with falling prices, metal, chemical products, and non-metal building materials related to household and sanitary ware account for 13 types, namely, hot-rolled ordinary sheet, seamless steel pipe, angle steel, electrolytic copper, lead ingot, zinc ingot, sulfuric acid, caustic soda, methanol, butadiene rubber, ordinary Portland cement (PO 42.5 in bags), ordinary Portland cement (PO 42.5 in bulk), float flat glass. Among them, the price of methanol fell the most, 4.2%.

In the ceramic tile field, in October 2020, Shandong ceramic companies began to increase the price of ceramic tiles on a large scale, and then Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Shanxi, Gansu and other provinces have followed suit. The price increase is gradually sweeping in the northern region; by December 2020 In June, Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangxi, Sichuan and other places once again set off a new round of price increases, and the increase was even greater.

In the field of sanitary ware, in April 2020, Kohler China increased the prices of some products; LIXIL Japan also increased the suggested retail prices of some products from April 1, 2020, involving toilets, integral bathrooms, bathtubs, faucets, electric water heaters, for many categories such as ceramic tiles, the price increases ranged from 1% to 15%. In addition, sanitary ware companies in many regions have successively issued price adjustment notices.

However, with the future supply chain optimization and the country's adjustment of the direction of raw material procurement, this situation may be gradually improved.