The upstream and downstream of the industrial chain are undergoing a round of cost-driven price restructuring, and the end market is also facing transmission pressure.
Affected by the rise in international crude oil prices and the continued high cost of bulk raw materials, many industries such as waterproof materials, coatings and even furniture have recently issued price increase notices intensively.
Leading building materials companies, represented by Oriental Yuhong, have raised product prices in multiple rounds during the year, and coating giants and cement companies have simultaneously raised prices. The upstream and downstream of the industry chain are undergoing a round of cost-driven price restructuring, and the end market is also facing transmission pressure.
The industry’s leading leader in price increases
On April 16, Dongfang Yuhong (002271.SZ), a leading waterproof material company, sent another price adjustment letter to its customers and partners, announcing that starting from April 30, the price of its engineering waterproofing products will increase by 3%-8% based on the existing price.
This is already the third round of price increases for Oriental Yuhong this year. In March this year, Oriental Yuhong had already announced two rounds of price increases.
As for the reasons for the price increase, Dongfang Yuhong said that since February 2026 to the present, the raw materials for its products have increased significantly and continue to remain at a high level: the recent asphalt price has remained at 4,400 yuan/ton, an increase of 53%; acrylic emulsion
The price of liquid remained at 7,500 yuan/ton, an increase of 47%; the price of epoxy resin remained at 19,000 yuan/ton, an increase of 30%; the price of MDI remained at 26,200 yuan/ton, an increase of 28%; the price of PP and PE remained at 9,500 yuan/ton, an increase of 44%.
Recently, Oriental Yuhong gave a clear response to product price adjustments when accepting an institutional survey, saying that the continued rise in international crude oil prices this year has driven up the price of waterproof core raw materials.
The recently announced 2025 annual report of Oriental Yuhong shows that last year Oriental Yuhong achieved revenue of 27.6 billion yuan, which was basically stable, with a gross profit margin of 25%, slightly lower than the same period last year; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 113 million yuan, although it increased slightly compared to the previous year, it was still at a 10-year low. Compared with the net profit in 2023, which dropped by more than 90%, its net profit margin attributable to shareholders was only 0.4%.
In other words, although Oriental Yuhong has worked hard to maintain a revenue of more than 20 billion yuan in the past two years, it has not made any profits at all.
In the annual report, Dongfang Yuhong mentioned that asphalt is one of the company’s main raw materials. During the reporting period, the prices of some raw materials represented by asphalt were still running at a high level, which had a certain impact on the company’s overall gross profit margin.
Asphalt is a by-product of crude oil processing. Generally speaking, changes in global crude oil supply, demand and price will directly affect the production and cost of asphalt.
Data from the Chemical Plastics Research Institute shows that as of April 2, 2026, the average domestic asphalt price was 4,528 yuan/ton, an increase of 1,070 yuan/ton from the previous month, an increase of 31%, and a year-on-year increase of 23%.
In addition to Dongfang Yuhong, leading waterproof building materials companies such as Beixin Waterproofing, Keshun Co., Ltd. and Karen Co., Ltd. have taken the lead in price adjustments this year, jointly setting off a wave of price increases for waterproof materials.
Finished furniture may face price increases
Similar to the waterproof materials industry, there is also the coating industry.
Three Trees, the domestic paint leader, has announced price adjustments twice this year.
On March 15, 3TREES adjusted prices for the first time, announcing that products such as interior and exterior wall latex paint, real stone texture, and waterproof coatings would increase by 5% to 15%, and colorful Hengcai and art paint would increase by 5% to 10%.
On April 17, Sankeshu issued a price adjustment letter again, announcing that the prices of various products such as interior and exterior wall paints and art paints would increase by 3% to 25%. The price adjustments will be implemented from May 1st.
In the price adjustment letter, 3TREES also emphasized that “in view of the great uncertainty in the current fluctuations in raw material prices, our company reserves the right to adjust prices immediately and does not rule out the possibility of further price increases in the future.”
On April 15 this year, global paint giant PPG also issued a price increase letter, announcing that its entire range of products would be raised by up to 20% globally.
In the cement industry, many leading companies have also raised prices simultaneously recently, causing cement prices to rise in many regions in the country.
In the southwest region, Linshui Hongshi Cement Co., Ltd. announced that it will adjust prices starting from April 13, with the price of cement of various specifications increasing by 50 yuan/ton; Chongqing BBJ Jidong Cement said that due to the increasing environmental protection efforts, the cost of cement has increased, and it has decided to increase the ex-factory price of all types of cement sold to the main urban area of Chongqing by 60 yuan/ton starting from April 13.
In North China, Taiyuan BBMG Jidong Cement announced that it will increase the ex-factory price of clinker by 30 yuan/ton starting from April 15; Hebei Quzhai Cement Group also announced that it will implement new price standards from the same day and increase the original price of some products by 50 yuan/ton.
“The prices of sponges, wood, hardware, etc. involved in furniture manufacturing have also increased recently, which has also put great pressure on our terminal sales pricing.” Recently, a Shunde furniture industry practitioner said.
In April this year, Foshan Shunde District Furniture Association issued “Important Tips on Coping with Fluctuating Raw Material Prices,” calling on member units and enterprises across the industry to “face up to cost reality, scientifically calculate production costs, reasonably transmit cost pressures, and not reduce materials, simplify processes, cut corners, etc. in exchange for low-price advantages.”
Foshan Shunde has the largest furniture market in the country and even the world. The Lecong Furniture City, located on the Lecong section of Shunde on National Highway 325, stretches for ten miles and accommodates more than 3,400 dealers at home and abroad, displaying more than 20,000 types of furniture.
The scale of Foshan’s pan-home furnishing industry is nearly one trillion yuan, and its total industrial output value exceeds one trillion yuan.
“Due to the turbulent international situation, the price of raw materials in the furniture industry has fluctuated, which has significantly increased the overall cost pressure on the industry. As the price of raw materials increases, the price of finished furniture will also fluctuate (price increase) in the near future. This is a normal phenomenon.” Shunde Furniture Association said.
“Some adjustments can be made in the short term, but in the long term, because profits have been severely squeezed due to rising costs, terminal price adjustments may be unavoidable.” said the furniture industry person mentioned above.
Some senior figures in home furnishing companies said that due to the influence of the real estate industry cycle, the home furnishing industry has been very “involved” in the past few years. If the recovery of real estate and infrastructure demand is less than expected, terminal pressure will limit the room for price increases, and some companies may face the double squeeze of “difficulty in price increases and thin profits.”
