It only took two years for the rock slab to go from fire to cold. In 2019, there were only more than 20 domestic production lines capable of producing large-size (1200×2400mm and above) rock slabs, and this number increased to 96 in 2021. 2020-2021 can be said to be the "high temperature period" for the production of rock slabs. This year, the number of new slate production lines has dropped sharply. In 2022, there will be a total of 17 large slab/slate production lines newly built/technically transformed and put into production across the country, of which only 2 can produce 1200×2400mm slates, and most of the others Only large/small rock slabs with a size of 750×1500mm can be produced.
In addition, slate is not as popular as expected in terminals. Since the product technical standards and application technical regulations related to slate have not yet been perfected, the current slate market is a mixed bag, with many slate product quality problems and frequent consumer complaints. Therefore, even if the price of rock slabs plummets, it will be difficult to stimulate potential consumers' desire to buy.
Newly added from June to August this year
3 rock slab/large slab production lines
Zhong Taojun mentioned in his previous article "After bidding farewell to barbaric growth, where will the future of rock slabs go?" 》It is mentioned that as of June 8, 2022, 14 slate/large slab production lines across the country have been put into operation, and then the growth rate of sinter/large slab production lines has slowed down significantly. An additional 3 lines were put into production.
On June 24, the ignition ceremony of Ruiyang Group’s new intelligent No. 10 kiln was held at the Qinyuanchun production base. This production line produces large panels of 750×1500mm specifications, with a designed daily output of 35,000 m².
On June 28, Dongpeng Holdings’ Chongqing Yongchuan base’s 8# intelligent slate production line was officially ignited. This production line mainly produces 800×800mm high-grade glazed tiles and 750×1500mm high-quality and other low-energy consumption rock slab products.
On July 10, Guangdong Zhongyan’s sixth slate production line was put into operation. The production line is 502 meters long and has an internal width of 3.15 meters. It mainly produces rock slabs of 800×2600mm, 900×1800mm, 800×2000mm, 800×1400mm and other specifications, with a daily production capacity of more than 50,000 square meters.
It can be seen from the above-mentioned situation of newly built/technically upgraded production lines that the main specifications currently produced by the rock slab production line are 750×1500mm, which has also led to excessive production capacity of 750×1500mm rock slabs and faced the problem of plummeting prices. There are currently more than 97 production lines capable of producing 1200×2400mm rock slabs.
It is worth mentioning that some Chinese ceramic companies have begun to try cross-border cooperation in order to seek technological breakthroughs. On August 29, Claudio Facchini, General Manager of the Greater China Region of Italy's Sitibeinter Group, and his delegation came to the production base of Belite Ceramics Group in Anyang, Henan, to conduct research on the application of multinational ceramic advanced manufacturing technology. and discuss cooperation.
The cooperation project between Sidi Bente Group and Bellite Ceramics Group mainly focuses on the use of the latest Italian technology, with an annual output of 10 million square meters of full-body ultra-large rock slabs and ultra-thin large-size ceramic tiles. It is reported that the production line mainly produces products of 750×1500mm, 900×1800mm, 1600×3200mm and other specifications, with a total investment of about 500 million yuan. After completion, it will fill the gap in large-scale rock slabs in the central China ceramic production area and contribute to the overall technological innovation of the domestic ceramic industry. and the overall improvement of product quality is of great significance.
Stone slab prices plummet
Trouble caused by overcapacity?
According to Taocheng Daily, the ex-factory price of 750×1500mm rock slabs has dropped from more than 100 yuan last year to about 38 yuan today, a price drop of nearly 70%. As a differentiated and profitable product, the reason for the sharp plunge in the price of 750×1500mm rock slabs is mainly due to the excessive growth rate of the production line and overcapacity.
In addition, the prices of rock slabs with specifications such as 900×1800mm, 1200×2600mm, and 800×2600mm are also continuing to decline. Online platforms such as Taobao and Douyin show that the lowest terminal retail price of rock slabs has dropped to double digits: 900×1800mm single piece is priced at 30-40 yuan; 800×2600mm single piece is priced at only 49 yuan; 1200× The price of a single piece of 2600mm continuous background wall is 100-It costs about 200 yuan; a slate dining table is as low as more than 100 yuan.
The variety of colors and textures of these low-priced slates is no less than those found in offline stores. You can find them here such as Yashi white, fish belly white, Armani gray, cloud white, etc. However, even though the price is so low and the designs, colors and textures are so rich, the phenomenon of "explosion" of rock slabs still occurs frequently. At the beginning of this year, the news that the inventory scale of domestic rock slabs exceeded 10 billion caused a lot of heated discussion.
In addition, the China (Foshan) Ceramic Price Index Monitoring System shows that the slate index fell by 8.99% in June, while the sales volume of 900×1800 slate (3mm≤thickness<6mm) products fell by more than 20% month-on-month, and the transaction volume was fell by more than 4 percentage points; the rock plate index increased within 4 percentage points in July. Rock plate 900×1800 (3mm≤thickness<6mm) and rock plate 900×1800 (6mm≤thickness<9mm) maintained an expansion trend, and production and demand continued recover. Overall, the overall trading volume of rock slabs is not very high.
The collapse of rock slab stocks, coupled with the rapid expansion of rock slab production lines, is actually foreseeable for the terminal price to plummet. The production of rock slabs has rapidly entered the industrialization stage. At the same time, many ceramic companies have blindly followed suit and put a large number of rock slab lines into production at once, resulting in overcapacity and an imbalance between supply and demand. In order to make profits, companies can only continue to lower product prices.
However, the production cost of slate slabs is much higher than that of ordinary ceramic tiles, and the capital invested by enterprises is several times higher. Enterprises with insufficient funds can only choose to reduce costs and other methods of production. This leads to uneven quality of rock slabs in the terminal market and frequent chaos. As a result, rock slabs do not receive sufficient recognition in the terminal market, and the market cannot be opened, eventually falling into a vicious cycle.
Frequent fakes and many quality problems
Consumer complaints continue
Many consumers are disappointed with rock slabs mainly because they find that the slabs do not meet their expected value. On platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, many bloggers have blown up the slate. However, many consumers find that the rock slabs they bought have various quality problems after they buy them home.
The Black Cat Complaint Platform shows that there are 585 complaints about slates, including defects in slate countertops, fake slates being sold, incorrect goods, poor after-sales service, etc.
Zhongtaojun found out that the quality of slates is the most common consumer complaint, including defects in slate countertops, fake slates for sale, slate dining tables that crack after a short period of use, and slates with large color differences. The cracking problem of slate is the hardest hit area of complaints. One consumer said: "After cleaning, I found cracking on the slate dining table. However, no heavy objects were placed on the table. The seller said that the dining table has never cracked for no reason. , so the cracking of the dining table is caused by human factors.”
Another consumer said, “When I first received the goods, the slate was defective and defective, and the tabletop was extremely shaken and unusable. I asked for a refund at that time, and the seller said that they would send a new slate to replace it. I also arranged for a master to debug the shaking problem, and I agreed with this solution. However, nearly a month later, the new slate was shipped, and the new slate still had the same defects. ”
Wrong quality of rock slabs is also a common complaint. On the complaint platform, a consumer said that he purchased a 12mm slate dining table from a certain brand. However, after using it for less than two days and without vigorously bumping the table, the slate dining table began to fall off. , and the rock slab should be of the same color and material even if it falls off after being bumped. The impact depth of this dining table does not exceed 1mm, but it shows different colors and different materials, which is inconsistent with the material of the 12mm full-body rock slab purchased.
Today’s rock slab market is a mixed bag. In order to save costs, many brands sell ordinary ceramic tiles as rock slabs, or use inferior raw materials to produce low-priced rock slabs. After these poor-quality rock slabs enter the market, they will not be sold. It is conducive to the development of rock slabs, which is constantly consuming the end market's confidence in rock slabs and overdrafting the development space of the rock slab market. Therefore, the formulation of national standards and industry standards for rock slabs is urgent.
