A spread of nearly 2,500 yuan per tonne between PTA at 7,147.50 yuan and polyester FDY at 9,633.33 yuan on the same trading day tells a story of divergence. While PTA and polyester staple fibre rallied, the three major filament yarn varieties moved in the opposite direction. The September 24 session sent a clear signal: costs are pushing up, but demand is holding back.
Market Divergence: Who Rose, Who Fell
According to China Customs and industry public data, PTA rose 2.85% to 7,147.50 yuan per tonne, up 56.30% year-on-year. Polyester staple fibre followed with a 1.53% gain to 8,596.75 yuan per tonne, up 33.80% year-on-year. Both sit close to the upstream raw material end and are most sensitive to crude oil and PX price movements.
By contrast, polyester filament yarns declined. FDY fell 1.37% to 9,633.33 yuan per tonne, POY dropped 1.19% to 9,380.00 yuan, and DTY slipped 0.27% to 10,623.57 yuan. The declines were moderate, but the direction was entirely opposite to the raw material side, indicating that pricing power in the filament segment is being suppressed by inventory and order books.
The flat performers also deserve attention. Cotton yarn 21S held at 23,366.67 yuan per tonne, 32S at 24,800.00 yuan, viscose staple at 14,580.00 yuan, spandex at 29,000.00 yuan, and spun rayon yarn at 18,425.00 yuan. Lint cotton edged down 0.23% to 17,399.17 yuan, while raw silk remained unchanged at 435,600.00 yuan.
Why Raw Materials Rose While Finished Goods Fell
The core contradiction lies in transmission lag and inventory levels. The rally in PTA and staple fibre largely reflects cost-push dynamics, as rising PX prices forced polyester raw materials higher. But filament factories face a different reality: weaving utilisation rates have not improved meaningfully, buyers are restocking only on a need-to basis, and filament inventory is clearing slowly. When raw materials rise, factories choose to concede margin to move volumes.
What does this mean? For upstream PTA and staple fibre suppliers, short-term margins are improving. For filament plants, costs are rising while selling prices fall, compressing processing spreads. If this scissors gap persists, some small and medium filament producers may cut operating rates.
On a year-on-year basis, nylon POY led gains at 38.88%, with nylon FDY and DTY up 26.55% and 29.83% respectively, and spandex up 19.59%. Nylon strength is linked to resilient demand for sportswear and outdoor fabrics. Polyester filament yarns still show year-on-year gains of 31% to 36%, but the sequential weakness signals fading short-term momentum.
Transmission to Industrial Clusters and Buyers
Reactions in chemical fibre weaving clusters such as Keqiao and Shengze typically lag raw material moves by one to two weeks. The current pullback in filament prices should theoretically lower raw material costs for weavers, but if downstream apparel orders do not follow, the room for margin improvement remains limited.
The Nantong home textile cluster is more sensitive to polyester staple fibre and cotton yarn prices. The 1.53% rise in staple fibre will directly increase raw material costs for filling-type home textile products, while flat cotton yarn prices temporarily ease cost pressure on pure cotton home textiles. On the export side, PTA's 56.30% year-on-year gain means the quotation base for polyester export products has shifted markedly higher, and exporters need to reassess both currency and raw material risks when taking long-term orders.