Nylon DTY benchmark prices have moved up to 18,020 yuan per tonne, a gain of 7.65% from the start of last month. The number itself is not dramatic, but its position matters: over the past twelve months the price has ranged from a low of 13,560 yuan to a high of 18,960 yuan. The current level sits just 940 yuan below the annual peak, yet 4,460 yuan above the floor. In other words, the market has spent a year climbing out of a deep trough, and is now sitting in the zone where disagreement tends to be fiercest.
What the price position tells us
Placed against the annual range, 18,020 yuan is neither a peak nor an average. The median for the period is around 16,260 yuan and the mean around 15,589 yuan, putting the current quote roughly 15.6% above the average. That means weavers who restocked at lower levels already carry raw material costs well below today's price and have little reason to chase the market. For those who have not yet covered their needs, however, the cost of waiting is rising.
The push is coming mainly from upstream. The key feedstock for nylon chips is caprolactam, which is ultimately driven by benzene and crude oil. Fluctuations at the aromatics end typically feed through to chips within two to four weeks and then into DTY quotes. When feedstock is in an uptrend, DTY mills tend to adjust prices with a lag but in concentrated steps, which is exactly why the benchmark could jump more than 7% at the start of a month.
Supply and demand also played a role. Entering the fourth quarter, some nylon spinning plants scheduled maintenance or trimmed operating rates, tightening DTY spot availability. At the same time, warp-knit, weft-knit and sportswear fabric orders saw a seasonal autumn-winter rebound. Both ends moved toward tightness simultaneously, amplifying the upside elasticity of prices.
Transmission through the industrial belt
For warp-knitting clusters that rely on nylon filament as their main input, raw material accounts for roughly 30% to 50% of finished cost. Every 1,000 yuan per tonne increase in DTY translates into a 300 to 500 yuan per tonne rise in greige fabric cost. When order prices are locked, that directly squeezes processing margins, especially for export orders with long lead times and delayed quoting.
For traders, operating in a high range is actually harder than at the bottom. At low levels, restocking is a consensus; at high levels, the question becomes whether this is a trend or a spike. With only 940 yuan of headroom to the annual peak, upside is compressed. If feedstock retreats or peak-season orders disappoint, the pullback could be faster than the climb.
It is worth noting that the gap to the annual low is as wide as 4,460 yuan. That number is a reminder that nylon DTY does not trade in a narrow band. For buyers, the real task is not managing a single quote but managing the average cost across the year.
Practical guidance
For buyers - Use the annual average, not the current quote, as your benchmark; when spot prices run more than 15% above the average, scale in with small, staged orders rather than locking volume at once. - Watch turning points in caprolactam and benzene prices; feedstock peaks typically lead DTY quotes by two to four weeks and can serve as a negotiating window. - For orders with lead times beyond two months, add raw-material linkage or price-adjustment clauses to contracts to reduce one-sided risk.
For factories - In a high range, prioritise raw material supply for high-margin, short-lead-time orders, and delay price locking on longer contracts. - Build a monthly pricing mechanism with chip and DTY suppliers to avoid concentrated purchases at a single high point. - Track peers' operating rates closely; if maintenance season ends and supply recovers, adjust finished-goods inventory in advance.
The overall read: 18,020 yuan reflects a combination of cost push and temporary supply tightness, not a broad surge in demand. In a high range, managing rhythm matters more than calling direction.