Solar silicon wafer companies continue to increase production capacity when they meet the expected demand and are still profitable, so the demand for solar silicon materials is still strong. The solar silicon material is still affected by the epidemic environment, and the market is still in short supply. After the May 1st International Labor Day, long orders and loose orders for solar silicon materials have been signed one after another, which has led to price increases. At present, most solar silicon materials companies have signed orders in May, and subsequent bulk orders and urgent orders will cause prices to rise slightly.
Observing the production, operation and shipment of solar silicon materials, only a few companies conduct small maintenance, which has little impact on output. At present, the capacity utilization rate of solar silicon materials companies maintains a high level, and they are in a state of basically no inventory or even negative inventory. When the epidemic situation improves and logistics and transportation are gradually smoothed, the total supply of solar silicon material is expected to increase in May.
After companies such as LONGi and Zhonghuan raised their prices before the May 1st International Labor Day, most solar wafer companies followed suit to adjust their prices after the holiday. The needs of component consumers, the market is also in the process of continuous acceptance. In terms of supply and demand, during the May 1st Labor Day, the existing production enterprises basically maintained normal production, and the operating rate of first-tier enterprises increased slightly when the supply of solar silicon materials was sufficient.
Following the announcement by LONGi and Zhonghuan on April 27 that they had raised the quotations of solar silicon wafers, Tongwei also announced that the price of solar cells would also rise, and the price after the price increase was still at a normal level. Downstream photovoltaic module manufacturers in the industrial chain are actively stocking up to maintain demand for solar cells. Due to the shortage of materials and logistics and transportation brought about by the epidemic, solar cell companies are still in trouble. At present, the price of solar cells is at the same level as that of photovoltaic module companies. in the ongoing stalemate. Some companies have reported that some companies are so optimistic about the late market price that they are reluctant to sell, and they are unwilling to accept a monthly contract.
The price of single crystal 166MM photovoltaic module is about 0.277USD/W, the price of single crystal 182MM photovoltaic module is about 0.281USD/W, and the price of single crystal 210MM photovoltaic module is about 0.284USD/W. After several price increases of raw materials and auxiliary materials upstream of the industrial chain, the profit of photovoltaic modules gradually decreased, and the price rose slightly.
At present, due to the strong overseas demand in the second quarter and the continuous development of distributed projects in China, the market has a high acceptance of the price of photovoltaic modules. In May, photovoltaic module companies increased their production scheduling plans. In this case, the price will remain high. If the subsequent upstream prices continue to rise, the price of photovoltaic modules may still rise.
In terms of auxiliary materials, the price of glass has fluctuated slightly in the past two weeks. The price of 3.2mm glass has risen to about 4.2USD/㎡, and the price of 2.0mm glass is still about 3.09USD/㎡. The cost of glass production continues to rise. The intention of glass companies to increase prices is obvious. The demand of photovoltaic module companies is large, the glass inventory continues to decline, and the price of photovoltaic modules rises slightly, which increases the acceptance of photovoltaic module companies to the slight increase in glass prices.
Prediction for next week:
The price of monocrystalline silicon material continued to rise this week, and the prices of solar silicon wafers and solar cells remained basically stable. Due to the increase in cost, the price of photovoltaic modules also rose slightly, but the European market demand was strong in the second quarter. If the price of solar silicon material continues to rise, the price of photovoltaic modules There is still a possibility of an increase, and I hope that customers with projects will stock up as soon as possible to reduce cost losses.