In July, the raw material market for coatings exhibited a pronounced "divergence in price trends." According to data from the iBuychem Research Institute comparing July and June, the entire coatings and waterproofing industry chain experienced a structural market where half saw price increases while the other half faced significant declines. The 2026 July coatings procurement cost index stood at 85%, down 1 percentage point month-on-month, while the powder coatings procurement cost index was 85%, declining by 2 percentage points.
Titanium dioxide industry chain:
Titanium dioxide (rutile) fell 2.13%, mainly dragged down by upstream titanium concentrate (down 3.83%) and weak domestic demand. During the off-season, downstream architectural coatings have a light demand for goods. Even if upstream prices increase, titanium dioxide manufacturers are unable to raise prices and passively reduce prices to increase volume.
It is worth noting that the cost of raw materials sulfur (up 5.65%) and sulfuric acid (up 5.64%) has increased, but it has not been transmitted to the terminal, and the profit margin of titanium dioxide enterprises has been compressed.
Epoxy resin industry chain:
Epoxy resin, as the core raw material for industrial anti-corrosion flooring and epoxy waterproof coatings, saw a rise in the entire industry chain in July. Epoxy resin (E-51) increased by 1.81%, mainly driven by the cost of epichlorohydrin (up 6.21%) and bisphenol A (up 4.53%).
Multiple sets of epoxy chloropropane units in China are undergoing phased maintenance, coupled with the rise in crude oil prices driving up the price of propylene raw materials and tightening spot supply; Bisphenol A is strengthening due to the cost support of phenol, and the production cost of resin factories is passively rising. However, it is worth noting that the increase in upstream raw material prices is much greater than that of resin finished products, indicating that downstream demand has limited acceptance of high prices, and there may be insufficient follow-up momentum in the future.
Acrylic lotion/resin:
Acrylic lotion is the largest raw material for interior and exterior wall latex paint and water-based industrial paint. Styrene acrylic lotion dropped by 8.69%, and pure acrylic lotion dropped by 1.28%; Upstream acrylic acid (-8.20%), butyl acrylate (-8.60%), and MMA plummeted by 16.03%. Only styrene slightly increased by 0.13%, almost unchanged.
Domestic acrylic acid, butyl ester, and MMA plants are resuming production, resulting in an oversupply of market supply; Summer is hot and rainy, and the construction of building coatings is off-season. Coating companies purchase according to demand and refuse to stock up. Upstream companies can only lower prices to ship and recover cash flow. Benefiting most water-based building paint factories, the purchase cost of lotion decreased significantly, and the production cost of emulsion paint decreased significantly month on month.
Isocyanates:
TDI (toluene diisocyanate) surged 8.76% due to supply contraction caused by centralized maintenance of some domestic facilities, a decline in industry operating rates, and a temporary recovery in overseas export orders. However, toluene and xylene solvents saw a slight decline, which slightly offset the increase in TDI.
High end fatty acids have plummeted across the board, HDI（-18.82%）、IPDI（-14.66%）、 Hexanediamine (-14.38%) experienced a deep decline. The concentrated release of new production capacity of adiponitrile has led to a sharp increase in the supply of hexamethylenediamine, resulting in a significant drop in the cost of high-end curing agents; The significant reduction in raw material costs for high-end weather resistant exterior wall coatings, automotive paints, and industrial anti-corrosion topcoats is beneficial for cost reduction in high-end industrial coatings.
Powder coating polyester resin:
In July, most powder coating raw materials fell, with TMA's phthalic anhydride plummeting by 20.40%, PTA falling by 6.11%, and IPA falling by 3.71%; The TMA industry has seen an increase in production, inventory backlog, and a significant drop in prices, becoming the biggest cost reduction benefit for powder coatings. Neopentyl glycol (+4.20%), isobutyraldehyde, and TMP saw a slight increase.
Universal solvents:
The rise and fall are differentiated, with ketones and alcohols generally weakening, while acetate is relatively strong. In July, acetate showed an increase while oxygen-containing solvents (acetone, alcohol ethers) fell. Ethyl acetate (+4.84%), sec butyl acetate (+2.17%), butyl acetate slightly increased by 0.31%, and ethylene glycol butyl ether slightly increased by 1.06%; The maintenance support supply for the acetic acid plant has been tightened; Acetone (-7.31%), isopropanol (-6.22%), propylene glycol methyl ether acetate PMA (-6.94%), ethylene glycol ethyl ether acetate (-7.31%), xylene (-5.18%), toluene (-1.49%), 200 # solvent oil (-1.17%).
In general, the paint raw material market in July was dominated by the demand side, and the price of lotion and waterproof raw materials was suppressed in the off-season of summer construction; Industrial anti-corrosion requires strong support of epoxy TDI。 Overall, there is ample cost reduction in civilian coatings and waterproofing, while the cost of industrial epoxy coatings is under pressure.
(Note: All price data and indices in the article are quoted from the Market Monitoring Report of iBuychem Research Institute in July 2026. If you need to subscribe, please Emai：zhangq@ibuychem.com .)