A spread of 310 yuan per ton is a warning sign worth noting in polyester POY, a category where competition is usually measured in fractions of a yuan. On September 11, 2026, three producers in Shaoxing and Hangzhou, Zhejiang quoted 150D/48F semi-dull first-grade POY at 9,050, 9,150 and 9,360 yuan per ton respectively. Same specification, same region, same day — yet the gap between the highest and lowest quotes exceeds 3%. This is not simply case-by-case negotiation; it is a direct reflection of changing capacity concentration on the pricing side.
Price Structure: Who Sets the Anchor, Who Follows
Shaoxing and Hangzhou sit within Zhejiang's core chemical fiber corridor, with logistics radius under 150 kilometers. The delivered cost difference for PTA and MEG typically stays within 50 yuan per ton. That makes it hard to explain the 310-yuan gap between 9,050 and 9,360 yuan purely through freight or raw material procurement differences. A more reasonable judgment: leading producers are anchoring the processing fee range, while smaller mills with insufficient order saturation choose to concede margin to secure volumes.
From an industrial structure perspective, quotes from integrated players like Rongsheng Petrochemical are often viewed as a regional bellwether. Its 9,150 yuan positioning is neither the lowest nor the highest, suggesting that leading firms currently prefer to stabilize processing fees rather than chase market share. By contrast, the highest quote at 9,360 yuan from Senkai New Materials may correspond to small-batch, multi-batch, flexible-delivery differentiated orders, whose customer base is relatively less price-sensitive.
For buyers, this price structure means: if order volume is large and delivery schedule is flexible, there is clear room for negotiation in the 9,050-9,150 yuan range; if fast delivery or special color is required, the 9,360 yuan premium is not unreasonable, but it should be confirmed whether additional services are included.
Industry Impact: Processing Fee Game Enters a New Phase
POY processing fees have long been a barometer of industry profitability. When the quote range narrows, it indicates high capacity utilization, low inventory and strong demand; when the range widens, it often corresponds to order divergence — large plants at full capacity, small plants underfed. The current 310-yuan spread points precisely to the latter state.
Rising capacity concentration in Zhejiang is the underlying driver. Over the past three years, several small and medium polyester plants in Shaoxing and Hangzhou have exited or converted production, while leading firms' single-line capacity and regional pricing power have risen in tandem. The direct consequence: quotes are no longer determined by "market average cost" but by "leading firms' marginal cost plus target processing fee." Smaller mills must either follow the leaders' pricing and accept thinner margins, or undercut to win orders and bear cash flow pressure.
For downstream weaving and texturing enterprises, this divergence means raw material procurement strategy needs to shift from "price comparison" to "stability comparison." If low-priced supply comes from plants with unstable operating rates, subsequent batch consistency and delivery guarantees may suffer, with hidden costs far exceeding the visible 310-yuan spread.