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In 2023–2024, the leading exporters of Dichloromethane were the United States, Germany, and China, collectively accounting for over 50% of global exports by value; major importers included India, South Korea, and Mexico, driven by demand from pharmaceutical, paint, and adhesive manufacturing sectors. Import volumes into Asia-Pacific economies have risen steadily since 2022, coinciding with moderate upward pressure on Dichloromethane prices amid tightening environmental regulations in key producing regions.
Dichloromethane (DCM) Recent Commodity Market Intelligence Analysis
I. Price Dynamics
- Recent Price Trend: According to Echemi (Shengyishe) data, the reference price of dichloromethane on May 22, 2026, stood at RMB 2,335.00 per ton, representing a 14.74% increase compared to RMB 2,035.00 per ton on May 1. Between May 18 and May 22, prices stabilized within the range of RMB 2,335.00–2,340.00 per ton. Prior to this, prices had declined sharply, reaching a low of RMB 2,037.50 per ton on April 27—a 22.23% drop from the beginning of April—indicating that the market has entered a recovery and stabilization phase following a rapid correction.
- Regional Price Differentials: As a major production base, Shandong Province exhibited pronounced regional price variations as of May 11: Dongying City’s Shandong Jinling (≥99.9% purity) quoted RMB 2,350.00 per ton; Luxi Chemical’s premium-grade product was priced at RMB 2,600.00 per ton; in Jinan City, domestic premium-grade DCM prices ranged widely from RMB 1,700.00 to 2,650.00 per ton; and in Qingdao—where logistics costs are comparatively higher—Luxi Chemical’s premium-grade product commanded a premium price of RMB 3,000.00 per ton. Such significant inter-regional differentials reflect disparities in local supply-demand structures and transportation cost implications.
II. Supply-Demand Analysis
- Supply Side:
- Capacity Adjustment: China’s DCM output declined by 4.9% year-on-year in 2024, primarily due to the decommissioning of Jiangsu Meilan’s production unit and constrained raw material supplies at Zhejiang-based enterprises. The industry plans to add approximately 1.526 million tons/year of new capacity in 2026; if all projects come online as scheduled, total national capacity will exceed 5 million tons/year by year-end—though near-term supply pressure remains limited.
- Enterprise Developments: Leading firms—including Luxi Chemical and Shandong Jinling—have enhanced competitiveness through technological upgrades and integrated industrial chain strategies. For instance, Luxi Chemical optimizes its cost structure by dynamically adjusting the production ratio between self-supplied chloromethane and methylene chloride derivatives; when raw material prices rose 15% in 2025, the company raised its end-product pricing by only 6%.
- Demand Side:
- Traditional Applications: Refrigerant manufacturing remains the largest end-use segment; however, demand growth in adhesive and solvent applications has slowed amid the ongoing real estate downturn. Pharmaceutical demand remains stable, but weakened export performance has dampened domestic producers’ operating enthusiasm.
- Emerging Applications: High-purity DCM (≥99.95%) is witnessing robust annual demand growth of 8.7%, driven by applications in semiconductor manufacturing and pharmaceutical intermediates—particularly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, where industrial agglomeration effects fuel strong regional demand.
- Export Market: In 2024, export volume declined by 30.2% year-on-year, mainly attributable to soft overseas demand and elevated shipping freight rates. However, import volumes surged significantly both year-on-year and month-on-month in April 2026, signaling renewed restocking demand in international markets.
III. Industry Trends
- Technological Upgrading: Stricter environmental regulations are accelerating the industry’s transition toward a ‘high-purity + customized technical service’ business model. For example, Shanghai Jinboda Chemical offers end-to-end solutions—from solvent selection and formulation optimization to process engineering support—with same-day delivery coverage exceeding 85% across the Pearl River Delta region, effectively meeting the needs of small- and medium-sized users.
- Supply Chain Restructuring:
- Regional Collaboration: Hubei Chengfeng Chemical leverages a centralized warehousing hub to enable coordinated operations across 200 storage tanks in Central China, achieving same-day delivery (order placed in morning, delivered in afternoon) to urban clusters including Wuhan, Zhengzhou, and Changsha—substantially enhancing logistics efficiency.
- Emergency Resilience: Dongguan Xindu Chemical maintains a fleet of over 30 hazardous chemical transport vehicles. During the 2025 typhoon season, the company successfully prevented customer material shortages via backup storage tanks and ad-hoc maritime shipments—highlighting the growing strategic importance of supply chain resilience.
- Safety & Regulatory Oversight: Dichloromethane is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a Group 2A probable human carcinogen. Recent regulatory scrutiny intensified after multiple nail polish removers were found to contain excessive DCM levels—sparking heightened safety oversight and likely accelerating industry-wide shifts toward lower-toxicity alternatives.
IV. Outlook & Strategic Recommendations
- Price Forecast: In the short term, prices are expected to remain range-bound at elevated levels, supported by relatively tight supply and recovering export demand. Medium-term trajectory hinges on the timing of new capacity commissioning and the pace of downstream demand recovery. Should refrigerant demand sustain improvement, prices may breach RMB 2,400 per ton; conversely, export setbacks or accelerated overcapacity could push prices back down to the RMB 2,200 per ton range.
- Enterprise Strategies:
- Production Side: Optimize product mix by increasing the share of high-purity and electronics-grade DCM to serve high-end sectors such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
- Trading Side: Leverage digital platforms (e.g., Jiangsu Zhengzhixin Chemical’s B2B platform) for real-time price benchmarking and end-to-end logistics tracking to reduce procurement costs.
- Risk Management: Establish price volatility early-warning systems; lock in raw material costs via long-term contracts; simultaneously diversify export channels by expanding into emerging markets such as Southeast Asia.
- Investment Direction: Prioritize companies with vertically integrated capabilities (e.g., full-chain alignment spanning methane chlorination → refrigerants → fluoropolymers), as well as suppliers that have cultivated distinctive competitive advantages in technical services and emergency response infrastructure.
Dichloromethane (DCM) is a clear, colorless, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like odor and low viscosity. It is a halogenated aliphatic compound, specifically a dichlorinated methanes derivative, with a boiling point of 39.6 °C and a melting point of −96.7 °C. DCM is widely employed as a non-flammable, medium-polarity solvent in industrial cleaning, degreasing, and coating removal applications. It serves as a processing solvent in pharmaceutical manufacturing—including active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) synthesis and tablet film coating—and as a reaction medium or extraction agent in the production of agrochemicals, polymers, and specialty chemicals.
Methylene chloride is used as a solvent, especially where high volatility is required. It is a good solvent for oils, fats, waxes, resins, bitumen, rubber and cellulose acetate and is a useful paint stripper and degreaser. It is used in paint removers, in propellant mixtures for aerosol containers, as a solvent for plastics, as a degreasing agent, as an extracting agent in the pharmaceutical industry, and as a blowing agent in polyurethane foams. Its solvent property is sometimes increased by mixing with methanol, petroleum naphtha, or tetrachloroethylene.Methylene chloride is the active ingredient in many formulations of paint removers including industrial paint and commercial furniture strippers, home paint removers, and products used for aircraft maintenance. The chemical has a unique ability to penetrate, blister, and lift a wide variety of paint coatings. Formulations of the chemical are used extensively in both flow-over and immersion (dip) tanks in furniture refmishing operations. For the maintenance of military and commercial aircraft, a methylene chloride-based product is often required to inspect the surface for damage.Since the mid-1990s methylene chloride has replaced 1,1,1-trichloroethane in nonflammable adhesive formulations for industrial applications, including fabrication of upholstery foam. It provides adhesive formulations with strong, instant bonding characteristics and efficacy under extremes of temperature and humidity. In foam applications, use of methylene chloride eliminates the possibility of hard seams and allows for ready compliance with flammability requirements for upholstered furniture.Methylene chloride is used in aerosols as a strong solvent, a flammability suppressant, vapor pressure depressant, and viscosity thinner. Current aerosol uses of methylene chloride include spray paints and lubricants.Methylene chloride is a leading auxiliary blowing agent used in the production of slabstock flexible polyurethane foams for the furniture and bedding industries. Methylene chloride is used as an extractant in the recovery and purification of a wide variety of materials including oils, fats, and waxes. The chemical is used for the decaffeination of coffee and tea, oleoresin extraction from a variety of spices, and for the extraction of hops. As with tablet coatings, little or none of the chemical remains in the finished product.
Methylene chloride, a chlorinated solvent, is a volatile, colorless liquid with a sweet-smelling odor. It is often referred to as dichloromethane. Methylene chloride has many industrial uses, such as paint stripping, metal cleaning and degreasing.
This chemical is included in Basic Chemicals - Fluorochemicals. See more about what is Dichloromethane and Dichloromethane SDS information.
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