Compared with previous years, the development of raw materials markets in the year under review was largely stable due to an overall improvement in availability. Global supply chains also returned to more normal levels. This was also reflected in less volatile price developments, particularly for metals. Although a decline in price volatility was observed for products such as crude oil and butadiene, prices still fluctuated significantly in some cases. Overall, however, they were roughly on a par with the level seen at the start of 2023 at the end of the reporting period.
Carbon steel and stainless steel are input materials for many of the mechanical components such as die-cast parts integrated by Continental into its products. Steel wire is used in particular in tire production as steel cord but also in conveyor belts and timing belts to increase tensile strength. Aluminum is used in particular for die-cast parts and stamped and bent components, while copper is used in particular in electric motors, mechatronic components and printed circuit boards. Prices for carbon steel in euros, which had fallen slightly in the previous year, decreased by approximately 23% on average in 2023. The price of copper in US dollars, which had also fallen slightly in the previous year, declined by 3% on average. The average price of aluminum in US dollars was down 16% in 2023.
Steel, copper and aluminum
Indexed to January 1, 2021
Sources:
Carbon steel: hot-rolled coil Northern Europe ex works, from Kallanish Commodities (€ per metric ton).
Copper and aluminum: rolling three-month contracts from the London Metal Exchange (US $ per metric ton).
Precious metals such as silver and gold are used by Continental and by our suppliers to coat components. The average price of gold in US dollars was up 8% in 2023, while that of silver was up 7%.
For natural rubber, weak tire demand worldwide led to a decline in prices. The average price of natural rubber TSR 20 in US dollars was down 11% year-on-year in 2023, for example.
Crude oil is the most important basic building block for synthetic-rubber input materials such as butadiene and styrene as well as for carbon black, various other chemicals, and plastics. The price of crude oil stabilized noticeably in 2023 compared with the high volatility in the previous year. The annual average price of Brent crude oil in US dollars fell by 18% year-on-year.
TSR 20, crude oil and butadiene
Indexed to January 1, 2021
Sources:
TSR 20: rolling one-month contracts from the Singapore Exchange (US $ cents per kg).
Crude oil: European Brent spot price from Bloomberg (US $ per barrel).
Butadiene: South Korea spot price (FOB) from PolymerUpdate.com (US $ per metric ton).
The lower price of crude oil also led to price reductions for various input materials for synthetic rubber in 2023. The average prices in US dollars for butadiene and styrene, for example, fell by 15% and 13%, respectively.
Plastic resins, as technical thermoplastics, are required by Continental and our suppliers in particular for the manufacture of housing parts in the Automotive group sector and for various other plastic parts in the ContiTech group sector. The average price of resins in US dollars was down 25% in 2023.
Continental uses natural and synthetic rubber in large quantities for the manufacture of tires and industrial rubber products. It also uses relatively large quantities of carbon black as a filler material and of steel cord and nylon cord as structural materials. Due to the high volumes and direct purchasing of raw materials, their price development has a significant influence on the earnings of the Tires and ContiTech group sectors.
