SunSirs: Plastics and Rubber Industries Bulk Commodity Intelligence (March 12, 2026)

Macroeconomics

1. [Automobiles] According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China's automobile exports reached 672,000 units in February, a decrease of 1.4% month-on-month but an increase of 52.4% year-on-year. Among them, exports of new energy vehicles reached 282,000 units, a decrease of 6.6% month-on-month but an increase of 110% year-on-year; exports of traditional fuel vehicles reached 391,000 units, an increase of 2.8% month-on-month and an increase of 26.2% year-on-year.

2. [Automobiles] According to CAAM, in February, my country's automobile production and sales reached 1.672 million and 1.805 million units respectively, a decrease of 31.7% and 23.1% month-on-month, and a decrease of 20.5% and 15.2% year-on-year.

3. [US CPI] The latest US inflation data shows that the seasonally adjusted CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month and 2.4% year-on-year in February, while the core CPI rose 0.2% month-on-month and 2.5% year-on-year, both in line with market expectations. However, the market generally believes that the February data did not reflect the impact of the surge in oil prices caused by the Iranian situation, and more data is still needed to determine when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again.

Plastics and Rubber

1. [BR] On March 11th, Sinopec Northeast Sales Company raised the price of butadiene rubber by 500 RMB/ton: Currently, the ex-factory price of butadiene rubber from Daqing and Jinzhou is 15,400 RMB/ton, with prices increasing from warehouses in Northeast China.

2. [Natural Rubber] According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China imported a total of 1.404 million tons of natural and synthetic rubber (including latex) in January and February 2026, a year-on-year decrease of 1.4%, compared to 1.424 million tons in the same period last year.

3. [Natural Rubber] Latest data shows that in the first two months of 2026, Côte d'Ivoire exported a total of 321,000 tons of rubber, a decrease of 0.9% compared to 324,000 tons in the same period of 2025.

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