Current Situation of Flat Glass Industry

(China Glass Network) Building materials industry enhanced energy conservation, emissions reduction and management innovation for financial costs and environmental constraints in 2011. Industrial economy maintained steady. Building materials enterprises realized industrial output value of 3.5 trillion yuan in 2011, a year-on-year increase of 34.2%. And flat glass’s output was 790 million weight boxes, an increase of 14%.

    Excess capacity existed in flat glass and other building materials industries for growing fixed asset investment. And the replacement of backward production in flat glass industry was slow.

    S&P Consulting ’s analysts of building material industry thought that the major problems of Chinese flat glass industry were as follows: Firstly, industrial risk resulting from excess capacity still exists. Secondly, domestic downstream market’s demand begins to fall. Thirdly, A rise in price of raw materials leads to reduce enterprises’ profit.

    According to “Twelfth Five Years Plan”, flat glass industry will enter adjustment period this year. The flat glass industry will present the following development trends in the next several years. First, during “Twelfth Five Years Plan”, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requested to weed out backward flat glass production of 90 million weight boxes. And the horizontal drawing craft flat glass production lines will be phased out. Secondly, the deep-processing rate of flat glass will gradually improved. At the end of “Twelfth Five Years Plan”, the deep-processing rate of flat glass will be 45%. Thirdly, along with strengthening of environmental consciousness and increased demand of high-tech areas, high quality glass may achieve breakthroughs.