Every note below is written by the people who compound the material — grades, dispersion, let-down, compliance and shipping, for buyers who have to put a number on a purchase order. Grouped by what you are trying to decide.
Dated notes on the things that move this market: feedstock and price movements, regulatory changes and supply structure — each with its source and date.
n-Hexane and BPAF were added on 4 February 2026. n-Hexane is the first substance listed on a neurotoxicity basis. On BPF, declarations saying it is listed and declarations saying it was removed are both wrong.
Read the brief →The EU ban on Russian carbon black, the India-EU trade deal, a US tariff advantage and contracting Russian feedstock. Why a buyer in Asia is not insulated, and the four questions that test a supplier’s supply position.
Read the brief →Shandong N330 has fallen about CNY 1,500/t from its September peak while coal tar rose 45% over the same period. Why the fall has a floor, how much of it reaches your grade, and what to ask your supplier.
Read the brief →Carbon black ran to a record in mid-September 2026 and has turned down. Regional N330 quotes have already fallen to CNY 10,300–11,500/t. What leads the price, how much pass-through you actually owe, and the ash check to run when prices fall.
Read the brief →Carrier resins are up 26–44% year on year while carbon black turns down. The cost split, why a 10% carbon black fall is not a 10% price fall, and the new PE/PP capacity due late October.
Read the brief →Case opened 23 September 2026 into PVC from China, Korea, Mexico and Taiwan after imports doubled in a year. Scope, evidence, what falls outside the case, and why 20 complaints across polymers means this is not an isolated event.
Read the brief →China carbon black prices rose about 40% in the first half of September 2026 to a record high, and coal tar is the reason. The data, the cause, and what it does to a masterbatch quote.
Read the carbon black brief →Nine substances went out to consultation for the UK REACH candidate list. Two touch everyday masterbatch formulations: MCCP in PVC and cable, and UV-326 in stabiliser packages.
Read the REACH brief →Units below 50,000 t/yr are exiting under a 2026–2029 policy and the top five producers hold about 55% of the market. Why single-source risk, not price, is the issue.
Read the supply brief →What black masterbatch is, what the same carbon black percentage really means, and how it differs from the alternatives.
The carrier is the other 60% of the bag. How PE, PP and PS carriers change dispersion, processing window and shade — and how to specify the right one without overpaying.
Read the technical guide →Cost per finished part, dispersion, handling and changeover compared — with a plain decision guide.
Read the comparison →Surface resistance bands, migratory antistats vs carbon networks, the percolation cliff — and how to write a spec that suppliers can't misread.
Read the technical note →A plain-language definition and the three components behind it — carbon black, carrier resin and additives. Includes the seven figures worth specifying, a typical-loading table, and five assumptions that quietly raise your cost per tonne.
Read the definition →Specifying a grade, checking a supplier, and knowing what a fair price is built from.
The formula, worked examples, and why the cheaper bag per kilo often costs more per finished part.
Read the guide →Twelve checks that separate a compounding plant from a trading desk — plus what to test in a sample, the QC equipment to ask about, and the documents to demand before you pay a deposit.
Read the buyer's checklist →What carbon content, melt flow index and filter pressure value actually tell you, a 30-minute incoming inspection protocol, and the red flags on a fake CoA.
Read the guide →Compatibility is not a property of a masterbatch — it is a relationship with the resin. The polarity divide, why the vinyl family needs its own route, and a carrier table by resin system.
Read the carrier guide →A shipment rarely gets stuck because of the material — it gets stuck on paperwork. The full document pack explained: commercial, technical and compliance items, plus why HS classification should never be settled from an invoice template.
Read the checklist →A quote is not one number — it is five decisions. Why the price per kilo is the least useful figure on the page, and how to compare two suppliers on cost per tonne of compound instead.
Read the pricing note →A price comparison turns into a production question the moment you consider switching. The five-stage qualification plan — desktop, sample, line trial, parallel run, switch — plus what to measure and the traps that catch converters mid-switch.
Read the trial plan →Most cost programmes fail at the bag price. Five levers that genuinely move cost per tonne of compound — converting quotes, over-specification, dispersion, dosing and scrap — plus three that quietly do the opposite.
Read the cost guide →How a lot is checked on arrival, and what to do when a film, pipe or moulding shows a defect.
The measurements that matter on a black masterbatch lot - filtration, dispersion, melt flow, carbon content, moisture - and how to tell a meaningful number from a precise-looking one.
Read the note →Five checks, thirty minutes, one opened bag — paperwork vs. bags, moisture, carbon content, dispersion, and what to do before you sign off a lot. Written from the buyer's side of the table.
Read the protocol →What each defect means, how to fix it at the line, and when the problem is not the masterbatch at all.
Read the troubleshooting guide →Two labs, both correct, two different numbers — because thermal residue, ash and dissolution do not measure the same thing. The five sources of disagreement, and how to close them.
Read the method comparison →PET is a condensation polymer, so moisture does not just sit in it — it breaks it. Why screen pressure climbs, what a filter pressure value actually predicts, and the comparison test that settles blame.
Read the troubleshooting order →Screen pressure, bubble breaks and re-string downtime decide your real cost per tonne of film. Why the cheaper bag is rarely the cheaper line — and how to use screen life as a running dispersion test on your own line.
Read the technical guide →Application-specific notes for cable, pipe, film, automotive interiors and food contact.
What black mulch film asks of a masterbatch grade - opacity, low-temperature flexibility and weathering - and the field failures that show where they originated.
Read the note →Why final carbon content — not the grade code — decides whether a pipe or liner survives decades of sun. ISO 4427/4437, GRI-GM13 and ASTM D1603 in plain words, with the figure to put on the purchase order.
Read the technical guide →EU 10/2011 vs FDA in plain words, why the carrier matters as much as the pigment, and the five documents that separate a real food-contact supplier from a brochure.
Read the compliance guide →A cable uses carbon black in up to three places, and each one is bought on a different specification. What to ask for at the jacket, at the insulation and at the semi-conductive screen — and why a carbon percentage on its own is only half a spec.
Read the selection guide →A jacket can hit its 2.5% carbon black target and still fail its type test. Dispersion decides both UV service life and volume resistivity — the two numbers most masterbatch data sheets omit. Includes a five-point purchasing checklist.
Read the technical guide →Carrier choice (PP/ABS), dispersion, VOC limits, and how to specify a low-odor grade that passes OEM checks rather than failing on the line.
Read the guide →Regulatory paperwork, recyclability, and what is moving in carbon black supply and pricing.
Carbon black supply chain: feedstock, pigment grades, consolidation and the four questions that tell you whether a supplier has secured pigment.
Read the note →Our Huizhou plant now holds the automotive quality standard on top of ISO 9001 — what actually changed on the floor, and why pipe and film buyers should care too.
Read the announcement →REACH and RoHS for the EU market — plus the distinction most buyers get wrong: masterbatch is a mixture under Article 31, not an article under Article 33, the 2026 Candidate List additions, and the eight fields a usable SVHC declaration must carry.
Read the outlook →Carbon black pricing tracks crude and coal-tar spreads. A buyer's view of feedstock cost, China capacity, and how to quote black masterbatch without surprises.
Read the outlook →More articles (material guides, application notes, and compliance updates) are being published monthly. Check back or subscribe via our quote form to get new pieces.