Market Report of the Raw Materials for Coatings and Waterproofing in 2025

iBuychem Research Institute

In 2025, China's coatings procurement costs will exhibit a moderate downward trend with structural differentiation, while the paint and raw material market will display a distinct "cost-price" divergence. The moderate decline in cost trends sharply contrasts with the firm pricing on the finished product side. Notably, the price movements of raw materials within the three major sectors—paints, powder coatings, and waterproof materials—will show significant divergence, creating favorable conditions for improving industry profitability.

According to monitoring data from the iBuychem Research Institute, the coatings procurement cost index in December 2025 stood at 70%, showing a slight month-on-month decline of 1 percentage point and a significant year-on-year drop of 11 percentage points. This data change directly reflects the overall weakness in raw material prices. Compared to the same period last year, the 11 percentage point decrease is particularly notable, indicating the market has moved far away from its previous high operating range. This change is both affected by fluctuations in global commodity prices, and a direct reflection of the continued weakness in end-user demand, such as domestic real estate and infrastructure construction.

The price divergence of raw materials in the powder coating and waterproofing materials sectors is also significant. In December 2025, the powder coating purchasing cost index stood at 76%, unchanged month-on-month and down 41 percentage points from the same period in 2024. In December 2025, the waterproofing material purchasing cost index was 85%, unchanged month-on-month and down 16 percentage points year-on-year. The powder coating procurement cost index remained flat month-on-month but experienced a substantial year-on-year decline, primarily due to the month-on-month price drops in raw materials such as titanium dioxide, TMA, and IPA. In the waterproofing materials sector, the price increases in materials like cement and SBS offset the declines in ABS polymer and PVC, ultimately keeping the procurement cost index stable month-on-month.