Global fiber optic cable prices

Recently, the top event of the global optical fiber and cable industry - the 7th World Optical Fiber & Cable Conference in 2021 was held in the form of an online conference, attracting many telecom operators and optical fiber and cable manufacturers from all over the world. And the upstream and downstream enterprises of the industrial chain participated in the conference.

Michael Finch, head of cable industry analysis at CRU, a market research firm, delivered a keynote speech, outlining the status and demand of the global optical fiber and cable market, and sharing his insights into how China affects the global market landscape.

The Chinese market "determines" the global fiber optic cable price

"How big and important is the Chinese market?" Michael Finch threw out this "soul torture" at the beginning of his speech. He said that since 2014, China's demand for optical fiber and cable accounted for about 50% of the world's demand, especially from 2015 to 2018, China vigorously built FTTH and 4G networks, and the demand ratio is far ahead of other global markets. More importantly, during this period, China's optical fiber and cable supply accounted for nearly 60% of the world's total.

Michael Finch pointed out that in the face of such an important market, the importance of its impact on the global optical fiber and cable market cannot be underestimated. According to CRU statistics, from 2013 to 2017 (except 2015), the export of China's optical fiber and cable products to overseas accounted for 4%-6% of the total output, and most of the production capacity was to meet domestic demand. 2018 was a turning point. China's FTTH and 4G construction came to an end, and the relationship between supply and demand began to reverse. Manufacturers immediately shifted their focus to exports, and the proportion of exports jumped to 10%.

What does this mean for the global market? Michael Finch said the most intuitive impact is price. Taking the European market as an example, in 2018, China's demand for optical fibers and cables fell sharply, and European demand did show a rebound, but the price of European optical fibers dropped by nearly 38%. It can be said that, in essence, the price of optical fiber in Europe has been pegged to China. "More than ever, the Chinese market determines the price of global fiber optic cables."

In response to this situation, CRU believes that Chinese manufacturers will face more and more market constraints. Not long ago, the European Commission (The European Commission) officially ruled that it will impose anti-dumping duties of 19.7% to 44% on fiber optic cables imported from China. At the same time, Michael Finch said that with the strong demand of China Mobile, Chinese manufacturers will pay more attention to domestic demand and reduce exports in 2022, so that the price pressure in Europe, India and Latin America will be released, but they will also bear the burden of Chinese manufacturers. Competitive pressure from joint ventures/subsidiaries established overseas.