Polyester filament yarn market saw a price adjustment in early July. For the 150D/48F semi-dull premium grade, Rongsheng Petrochemical quoted 8200 yuan/ton, while Zhejiang Juxing Chemical Fiber quoted 8050 yuan/ton, with a narrow spread of only 150 yuan, indicating market pricing convergence. This level is significantly lower than the mid-June peak, with a decline of about 2%-3%.
Drivers Behind the Price Correction
This price drop is not an isolated event. From the raw material side, recent weakness in PTA and MEG prices has weakened cost support, forming the fundamental basis for POY price softening. However, the deeper factor lies in the low operating rate of downstream weaving mills—the comprehensive operating rate of water-jet looms in Jiangsu and Zhejiang has dropped from 75% in May to around 68% currently, with doubts about the sustainability of terminal orders, especially export orders.
Inventory pressure is another key variable. According to industry public data, as of late June, POY inventory days at major polyester filament yarn producers had rebounded to 12-15 days, an increase of nearly 5 days from the May low. This means destocking has slowed, forcing companies to stimulate shipments through price cuts. As industry leaders, price changes by Rongsheng and Juxing often serve as bellwethers.
Ripple Effects in Regional Industrial Clusters
The direct impact of this price reduction is concentrated in Zhejiang Province. Rongsheng Petrochemical is based in Hangzhou, while Juxing is in Shaoxing—two regions with the densest concentration of polyester filament yarn capacity in China. Shaoxing's Binhai Industrial Zone and Hangzhou's Xiaoshan textile cluster directly source POY for texturing and weaving. For local small and medium-sized texturing mills, the price drop offers short-term benefits—lower raw material costs—but may also trigger further price pressure from end customers, squeezing margins.
For downstream weaving enterprises, lower POY prices mean reduced yarn procurement costs, but given the downward pressure on grey fabric prices, actual profit improvement is limited. More notably, if POY prices continue to decline, it could trigger a wave of concentrated restocking, temporarily supporting the price floor.
Transmission to Foreign Trade and Exports
Polyester POY not only serves the domestic market but also indirectly affects exports through processing trade channels. The 150D/48F specification is a key raw material for producing conventional linings like polyester taffeta and pongee. As competition intensifies in Southeast Asian textile markets, countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh are highly dependent on low-cost raw materials. Lower domestic POY prices theoretically enhance the price competitiveness of Chinese polyester filament yarn in overseas markets, but actual export order growth remains uncertain given RMB exchange rate fluctuations and freight costs.
From a longer-term perspective, this price drop may signal that the polyester filament yarn market will enter a range-bound zone in the third quarter. Expectations of new capacity releases in upstream PX and PTA continue, while downstream apparel consumption recovery remains limited. Supply-demand dynamics will dominate price trends over the next two months.