Since 2009, & due to the increase in costs of raw materials & labour, prices of numerous products have risen in many industries. This can also be seen in the Chinese auto glass industry, which has to deal with great cost & market pressure. With regards to manufacturing costs for auto glass, heavy fuel oil takes the largest part (about 40%), followed by soda ash cost (25%). The prices of these two raw materials have undergone significant growth since the beginning of 2010, & the forecast is for prices to remain high. This price growth, therefore, greatly influences the gross profit of glass manufacturers. Due to the financial crisis in 2008, the Chinese float glass industry underwent unprecedented depression at the beginning of 2009. The lowest price of float glass broke the record low of 1,000 CNY/ton. The price of float glass in China began to rise as of the second quarter of 2009 & has now reached the historical high of 2,500 CNY/ton. The price of high-tech float glass for auto glass has also acquired larger growth. In Q1/2010, the average price of heavy oil (coal tar) was 2,668 CNY/ton, an increase of over 10%, compared to Q4/09. The average price of soda ash was 1,319 CNY/ton, up 126 CNY/ton for the same period.
