Nylon: Supply and demand situation improves, short-term rebound is still acceptable

[168TEX News] After the Spring Festival, the price of pure benzene, the upstream raw material of nylon, increased slightly for a few days. But the good times did not last long, and the price of pure benzene also began to fall after the middle of the year, falling by 50-100 yuan/ton for many consecutive days. Under this situation, although the upstream raw material pure benzene has been in shock and consolidation, the downstream nylon market has gradually entered a stage where the supply and demand situation has improved with the increase in demand, and a short-term rebound is acceptable.
​1. The supply and demand situation of raw materials has improved and prices have increased slightly
Since March, caprolactam manufacturers have started operating at a low level of between 70% and 80%, and their social inventories are at a low level of 20,000 tons, which has once caused a tight supply situation. The start-up is not high, and the demand for downstream slicing picks up after March, which increases the consumption of caprolactam. To a certain extent, the market price of caprolactam begins to strengthen. For example, the supply of low-end liquids produced by Shandong Fangming, Haili and other manufacturers begins to rise. The increase was nearly 500 yuan in half a month.
The above-mentioned recent tight supply situation of nylon raw material caprolactam is mainly based on two points. First, its operating rate is lower than that of downstream slices. In March, the overall average operating rate of caprolactam was 70-80%, while the average operating rate of slicing manufacturers was generally maintained at around 80%. Some even returned to 90% level and were working at full capacity. The operating rate was about 10% worse, and the production capacity of caprolactam itself was significantly less than Downstream slicing production capacity is the main reason why caprolactam faces tight supply. Secondly, social inventory is low. The average social inventory of caprolactam in March was about 20,000 tons, while the inventory of downstream slices was about half a week. Generally speaking, after the consumption during the Spring Festival, the inventory of nylon raw materials has declined to a certain extent. As a result, since March, the supply and demand situation of nylon raw materials has relatively improved. The price of caprolactam has begun to bottom out and has risen strongly. Slices have also begun to rise due to cost factors.
​2. The trading atmosphere in the fabric market is getting better, driving upstream raw material yarn shipments
In March, the start-up rate of Shengze’s weaving market rebounded to 70-80%. Some nylon fabric manufacturers such as Fuxing Weaving and Wujiang Asia-Pacific expressed that the start-up rate was sufficient. The rebound in weaving start-up has a positive impact on the upstream industry. The consumption of raw material nylon yarn is also increasing and supporting the price of nylon yarn has begun to rebound.
As the temperature warms up, orders increase in spring and summer. Among recent fabrics, nylon four-way stretch, nylon-cotton, and cotton-nylon fabric shipments continue to be preferred. Sales of nylon-polyester peach skin, nylon-polyester spinning, and nylon velvet continue to heat up, thus driving the supply of raw materials. Sales of nylon yarn. Specifically, the recent sales of outdoor products have great consumption potential, such as some outdoor casual pants, hiking pants and composite finished products. At the same time, nylon four-way elastic and nylon yarn, which can be used to make nylon outdoor products, are also being sold accordingly. The current demand for nylon four-way stretch is good, driving the shipment of nylon DTY70D, and also causing the price of nylon yarn to rebound. At present, the semi-matting price of DTY70D/24F, which is a slightly better supply, is 20,500 yuan/ton. Recently, the price has partially increased by 500 yuan; the small unit price of low-end supply in Jiangsu market is 18,500-19,000 yuan/ton.
The shipment of nylon-cotton and cotton-nylon fabrics continues to be preferred. Downstream clothing manufacturers of this series of fabrics mainly produce men’s and women’s casual tops, casual trousers and jackets in the spring season. The domestic market demand is now active. Therefore, it has driven the production and sales of upstream nylon yarns FDY70D, FDY100D and FDY140D. The current mainstream yarn prices in Shengze market are around 18,000 yuan/ton for FDY100D and around 17,700 yuan/ton for FDY140D. The continued increase in sales of nylon velvet and other fabrics has also driven the sales of nylon yarn FDY and ATY yarn, among which FDY70D and ATY160D have been hot sellers recently. The recent price of nylon FDY70D in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas is between 18,200 and 18,500 yuan/ton for June acceptance. Enterprises require firm prices on the upper side, and low prices are reduced. Some manufacturers also said that they have quoted 19,000 yuan due to high cost pressure, and have recently increased slightly by about 200 yuan. . The price range of ATY air variable yarn in the Shengze market is around 26,000-26,300 yuan/ton. Among them, the price of air variable yarn produced in Taiwan is slightly higher at 26,300 yuan/ton, and the relatively low price of the air variable yarn produced in Shandong is 26,000 yuan/ton. .
Overall, the current supply and demand situation for nylon raw materials is improving, and with the warmer weather, summer clothing in the terminal market has begun to drive sales to support the operation of the upstream nylon market. In the short term, under the background of improving demand and a good supply and demand situation, the nylon market may still rebound to a certain extent. space