Chinese glass production increases 25 percent in 2006

The Chinese building material industry saw big production gains in 2006 as manufacturing facilities country-wide implemented efficiency changes, according to a May 22 report from China Economic Net.

Flat glass production grew by 25 percent in 2006 compared to last year, matched by similar growth for plasterboard, stone processing, and brick and tile production.

Overall building material prices didn’t see the same gains, increasing on average by only 1.67 percent year-over-year.

While most building industry segments saw slight price gains, the factory price of flat glass fell 5.9 percent in 2006 compared to 2005. The report attributes the price slip to “over concentrated production of newly accomplished projects.”

Exports ballooned across most industries, according to the report. For flat glass, exports of insulating glass units took the lead, about doubling during the year, according to the report.

Economic returns increased 29.3 percent for the main building material businesses. The report didn’t include industry-specific economic data.