A 310 yuan per ton spread for the same POY specification within Zhejiang province is not market chaos — it is a signal that pricing power in the polyester chain is shifting downstream. On September 11, 2026, three polyester producers in Shaoxing and Hangzhou quoted 150D/48F semi-dull first-grade POY at 9,050, 9,150 and 9,360 yuan per ton, a spread of roughly 3.4%. For texturing mills whose processing margins are often squeezed to a few hundred yuan per ton, this gap can determine whether an order is profitable or loss-making.
The Cost Logic Behind the Spread
The production route sets the cost baseline. Melt-spinning integrated producers polymerize PTA and MEG directly into filament, bypassing chip drying and re-melting, which gives them a structural cost advantage over chip-spinning peers. Zhejiang Juxing Chemical Fiber's 9,050 yuan/ton quote sits at the bottom of the range, likely leveraging its integrated melt-spinning setup. Rongsheng Petrochemical, a domestic polyester leader, quoted 9,150 yuan/ton, balancing scale efficiency with brand premium. Senkai New Materials' 9,360 yuan/ton high-end quote may reflect chip procurement costs or a differentiated product positioning.
The spread itself is not unusual; what is unusual is that it persists without being quickly arbitraged away. This suggests downstream texturing mills face switching costs — equipment compatibility, batch consistency and payment terms all constrain procurement decisions. In other words, the POY market is not perfectly competitive, and regional supplier concentration still exerts pricing influence.
Regional Pricing Stratification
Although Shaoxing and Hangzhou belong to the same Zhejiang polyester belt, their downstream customer structures differ. Shaoxing's Keqiao area hosts numerous texturing and weaving mills that purchase POY frequently in small batches and are extremely price-sensitive. Polyester plants around Hangzhou's Xiaoshan district serve larger texturing bases and export orders, where quality consistency and supply reliability matter more than absolute low prices.
This demand stratification creates a price gradient for the same specification across delivery locations. The 9,050 yuan/ton quote targets cost-sensitive local texturing customers, while the 9,360 yuan/ton quote serves larger users willing to pay a premium for stability. For buyers, this means simple price comparison can be misleading — if low-priced POY shows higher breakage rates or uneven dyeing in downstream processing, the total cost may actually be higher.
Transmission Effects Up and Down the Chain
On the upstream side, processing margins for PTA and MEG continue to narrow. China Customs data and publicly available industry figures indicate that capacity expansion in polyester raw materials outpaces downstream demand growth, limiting cost support. A significant portion of the 310 yuan POY spread does not come from raw material cost differences but from individual producers' processing fee positioning and inventory strategies.
On the downstream side, texturing mills' procurement strategies are diverging. Some are shifting to long-term contracts with large melt-spinning producers, trading flexibility for cost certainty. Others are hunting for low-priced spot cargoes, switching suppliers frequently to drive down procurement costs. Both strategies carry risks: long-term contracts may miss the benefits of falling prices, while spot switching can bring quality volatility and after-sales disputes.
For weaving and export segments, regional POY price divergence ultimately feeds into fabric quotes. If a texturing mill purchases POY at 9,360 yuan/ton, its DTY products will inevitably lack competitiveness in export quotations. This means exporters need to look at their fabric suppliers' raw material procurement channels, not just the fabric quote itself.