Higher adoption of the C919 airliner, China's first self-developed single-aisle passenger jet, is likely to boost demand for titanium mill products in the coming years, according to market participants.
China Southern Airlines, one of the country's top three airlines, ordered 100 C919 aircraft from its manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) yesterday. These aircraft will be delivered in 2024-2031.
China's flag carrier Air China on 26 April also announced that it will purchase 100 C919 aircraft from Comac during the same period. Another major airline, China Eastern Airlines, in September 2023 placed an order for 100 C919 aircraft from Comac, which delivered the fifth unit this March. This means all three top China airlines have invested in 100 aircraft deals for C919.
Market participants estimate a single C919 aircraft contains 3.92t of titanium mill products. Demand for titanium mill products from a single C919 aircraft will reach 49t based on an overall yield rate of 8pc for mill products used in aviation parts. Titanium mill products typically include titanium strip, rod, section bar, wire, plate, sheet, tap and foil.
Comac launched the C919 development programme in 2008 and began prototype production in 2011. The airliner had its maiden flight in 2017 and received its airworthiness certification from Chinese authorities in September 2022.
A continued increase in orders and deliveries of the C919 airliner is likely to continue to boost demand for titanium mill products in the coming years. Comac has received over 1,400 orders for C919 from domestic and international airlines so far.
China's 32 major manufacturers produced 159,000t of titanium mill products in 2023, up by 5.3pc from 151,000t in 2022, according to statistics from China nonferrous metals industry association titanium zirconium and hafnium branch (CNIA-TI). Aerospace, the second-largest consumption industry for titanium mill products, consumed 29,377t of titanium mill products in 2023, accounting for 19.8pc of China's total domestic production.
"Demand from the aerospace industry has large potential in China," a source at a Baoji-based mill products manufacturer told Argus. "Only 20pc of titanium mill products is used in China's aerospace industry now, while the proportion is as high as 70-80pc in Europe and the US."
A number of titanium mill products manufacturers in Baoji, which is known as China's "titanium valley", have begun to supply Comac as they have improved their product quality to meet Comac's criterion. Comac designated the country's largest producer Baoji Titanium (BaoTi) as the sole supplier of titanium mill products for the airliner just last year.
Argus-assessed prices for titanium ingot, the main feedstock in the production of mill products, held stable from 23 April at 60,000-62,000 yuan/t ex-works for TA2 grade today, in response to firm titanium sponge feedstock costs and steady demand from mill products manufacturers.
