1. Export situation

From January to March 2025, the cumulative export volume of glass fiber and its products in China was 485,500 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 3.9%. The cumulative export value reached 692 million US dollars, rising by 0.4% year-on-year. The average export price was 1,425.33 US dollars per ton, rising by 4.5% year-on-year.

In March alone, the export volume of glass fiber and its products was 183,100 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.2% and a month-on-month increase of 28.9%. In March alone, the export value was 257 million US dollars, up 1.4% year-on-year and 37.6% month-on-month.

图1  2024年以来我国玻璃纤维及制品各月出口量变化情况

Among them, the export volumes of the five major categories of products, namely commercial yarns, woven fabrics, mechanical felts, chemical felts and prepregs and other products, in March were 110,800 tons, 26,300 tons, 8,200 tons, 20,100 tons and 17,700 tons respectively, accounting for 60.51%, 14.37%, 4.49%, 10.97% and 9.66% respectively. The export volumes of the five major categories of products increased by 22.3%, 28.8%, 65.2%, 32.7% and 63.1% respectively month-on-month, and by -4.7%, 14.0%, -3.5%, 1.3% and -9.4% respectively year-on-year.

图2  我国玻璃纤维及制品3月出口占比情况

Among the 31 specific tax items, the top three in terms of monthly export volume in March were glass fiber roving without twist, glass fiber chopped strand with a length not exceeding 50 millimeters, and glass fiber chemically bonded felt, with export volumes of 75,700 tons, 28,900 tons, and 16,300 tons respectively. The combined export volume of these three items accounted for 66.03% of the total export volume for this month. The smallest export volume was that of glass fiber rown mesh woven fabric with a width of no more than 30 centimeters, which was only 13.88 tons.

In March alone, the top three items in terms of month-on-month growth in export volume were tight plain weave woven fabrics made from glass fiber yarns with a width of no more than 30 cm (coated or laminated), other glass fiber mesh woven fabrics with a width of more than 30 cm, and glass fiber coarse yarn mesh woven fabrics with a width of no more than 30 cm, increasing by 373.0%, 203.3%, and 191.3% respectively. The export volumes were 28.57 tons, 6,631.60 tons and 13.88 tons respectively. The export volume of other chemically bonded glass fiber mesh fabrics, which declined most significantly compared with the previous period, was 31.50 tons, a decrease of 43.3%. The top three items in terms of year-on-year growth in export volume in March were glass fiber filament plain weave fabrics with a width exceeding 30 centimeters (weighing no more than 110 grams per square meter, with a single yarn fineness not exceeding 22 terkes, and without coating or lamination), chemically bonded glass fiber mesh pads, and glass fiber rown mesh woven fabrics with a width exceeding 30 centimeters. They increased by 112.9%, 74.1% and 58.7% respectively, with a total of only 1,971.81 tons.

2. Import situation

From January to March 2024, the cumulative import volume of glass fiber and its products in China was 25,200 tons, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.5%. The cumulative import amount was 270 million US dollars, increasing by 50.0% year-on-year. The average import price from January to March was 10,714.29 US dollars per ton, increasing by 35.7% year-on-year.

In March alone, the import volume of glass fiber and its products was 10,500 tons, up 39.3% year-on-year and 58.2% month-on-month. The import value in March was 96 million US dollars, increasing by 38.7% year-on-year and 18.2% month-on-month.

Among them, the monthly import volumes of the five major categories of products, namely commercial yarn, woven fabrics, mechanical felt, chemical felt and prepregs and other products, in March were 7,900 tons, 1,000 tons, 200 tons, 400 tons and 1,100 tons respectively, accounting for 75.32%, 9.60%, 1.45%, 3.58% and 10.04% respectively. The year-on-year growth rates of imports of the five major categories of products were 61.4%, 13.5%, -32.3%, -24.2% and 2.5% respectively, and the month-on-month growth rates were 71.9%, 37.7%, -21.3%, -1.0% and 44.4% respectively.

图4  我国玻璃纤维及制品3月进口占比情况

Among the 31 specific tax items, the top three in terms of import volume in March were glass fiber chopped strand with a length not exceeding 50 millimeters, glass fiber roving without twist, and glass fiber chopped strand with a length exceeding 50 millimeters, with import volumes of 4,200 tons, 2,800 tons, and 700 tons respectively, accounting for a total of 73.33% of the total import volume for this month. The smallest import volume was for other glass fiber mesh woven fabrics with a width not exceeding 30 centimeters, followed by glass fiber rown mesh woven fabrics with a width exceeding 30 centimeters, which were 2 kilograms and 8 kilograms respectively. It should be particularly noted that the import volume of chemically bonded glass fiber mesh pads was zero both this month and last month.

In March alone, the top three items with the highest month-on-month growth rates in import volume were other glass fiber mesh woven fabrics with a width exceeding 30 cm, glass fiber roving mesh woven fabrics with a width not exceeding 30 cm, and glass fiber roving without twist. The import volumes of these items were all relatively small, at 17.74 tons, 0.38 tons, and 2,844.56 tons respectively. The largest month-on-month decline was seen in glass fiber rown mesh woven fabrics with a width exceeding 30 centimeters and other glass fiber mesh woven fabrics with a width not exceeding 30 centimeters. However, the import volumes of both were very small, totaling only 10 kilograms. The top three items in terms of year-on-year growth rate in March were glass fiber rote without twisting, mechanical bonding felt made of glass fiber, and tight pads made of chemically bonded glass fiber. The import volumes for this month were 2,444.56 tons, 17.93 tons, and 12.26 tons respectively.

Interpretation and Analysis

In the first quarter, the export volume of glass fiber and its products in China decreased by 3.9% year-on-year, while the export value increased slightly by 0.4%. During the same period, the import volume rose by 10.5% year-on-year, and the import value increased sharply by 50% year-on-year. A series of data reflect that the external demand market is gradually being affected by the new tariff policy of the United States and the continuous increase of global uncertainties. Meanwhile, the domestic demand market is warming up and has become the ballast stone to stabilize the development of the industry.

With the Trump administration's successive intensification of trade barriers, the global trade of the glass fiber and products industry is bound to be impacted to a certain extent. Continuously expanding the domestic demand market is the fundamental for the stable development of the industry in the future. The domestic market demand in fields such as wind power, 5G/6G communication, and security is gradually heating up, giving rise to new demands for high-performance glass fibers and products with high modulus, low dielectric constant, and high silicon-oxygen content. The entire industry should gradually complete the transformation of understanding from "scale is king" to "value first", drive the green, intelligent, and high-end development of the industry through technological innovation, and shape new drivers and advantages for the industry's development. Continuously empower the high-quality development of the industry. (China Fiberglass Industry Association Huang Ru 诔)