For a full year, the price has barely moved. For nylon DTY, the price chart from July 2025 to July 2026 is almost a flat line—annual average of 15,035 yuan/ton, current price of 15,840 yuan/ton, unchanged from the start of the month and nearly identical year-on-year. But beneath this flat line lies a range of 13,560 yuan/ton at the bottom and 18,960 yuan/ton at the top, a swing zone exceeding 5,000 yuan/ton.
The Industrial Logic Behind Mid-Range Fluctuations
From an annual statistical perspective, the current price sits right at the midpoint of the year's range, neither touching the warning zone of -3,120 yuan from the peak nor sliding to the cost line of 2,280 yuan from the trough. This 'neither up nor down' stalemate tests decision-making across the supply chain more than a one-sided rally or decline.
Upstream, price fluctuations in caprolactam and PA6 chips have not effectively transmitted to the nylon DTY segment. Over the past 12 months, raw material prices experienced at least three distinct cycles of rise and fall, yet nylon DTY prices have hovered in the narrow 15,000-16,000 yuan/ton range. This indicates two things: first, downstream fabric mills have extremely low willingness to accept high-priced raw materials, limiting procurement to small urgent orders; second, competition among nylon spinning companies has entered a 'cost war' phase—whoever raises prices first loses orders, and no one wants to break the balance.
Supply-Demand Mirror of Regional Industrial Clusters
From an industrial cluster perspective, the main consumption areas for nylon DTY are Changle in Fujian, Shaoxing in Zhejiang, and Wujiang in Jiangsu. These three regions correspond to three major process routes—warp knitting, circular knitting, and water-jet weaving—each with distinct demand structures.
Changle's warp knitting cluster demands fine-denier, high-elasticity varieties. In the first half of 2026, operating rates remained around 70%, but finished goods inventories generally exceeded 30 days. Shaoxing's circular knitting market leans toward medium-denier standard specifications and is more sensitive to foreign trade order fluctuations, with export value down about 5% year-on-year in the first half, leading to reduced local nylon DTY procurement. Wujiang's water-jet weaving market remained relatively stable but was constrained by environmental production limits, reducing actual operating days and lengthening procurement cycles.
The combined demand profile of these three clusters paints a picture of 'flat aggregate, divergent structure.' This means that even at the same price, buyers in different regions perceive 'expensive' or 'cheap' very differently.
Outlook and Inventory Game
The current price of 15,840 yuan/ton is about 5% above the annual average of 15,035 yuan/ton. Historically, nylon DTY prices tend to show seasonal fluctuations in Q3 as autumn/winter fabric stocking begins, triggering a small procurement peak. This year's variable is that downstream apparel brands' inventory destocking has been slow, extending the time it takes for end orders to reach the fabric level.
On the inventory front, industry public data shows that social inventory of nylon DTY had risen to about 45 days by end-June 2026, higher than the same period last year. If Q3 demand falls short of expectations, prices may trend toward 15,000 yuan/ton or even lower. Conversely, if raw material costs spike unexpectedly—say, due to a surge in international oil prices driving caprolactam—a restocking wave could push prices toward 17,000 yuan/ton.