On July 3, a noteworthy signal emerged in the East China polyester DTY spot market: the price gap for the same specification (150D/48F semi-dull low-elastic AA-grade) between two major producing areas reached 150 yuan/ton. Rongsheng Petrochemical quoted 9,150 yuan/ton in Hangzhou, while Shaoxing Juxing Chemical Fiber quoted 9,000 yuan/ton. This spread is not simply a regional transportation cost difference; it reflects deeper divergences in capacity structure, raw material supply chains, and downstream customer bases.
For industry players who have long tracked the polyester chain, the price gap between Hangzhou and Shaoxing has persisted for several weeks, but it became more pronounced in the first week of July. Hangzhou, as the base of Rongsheng Petrochemical, benefits from an integrated PTA-polyester filament capacity, with a raw material self-sufficiency rate of over 95%. This compresses raw material transportation and storage costs to a minimum in DTY production. Shaoxing, on the other hand, hosts a large number of small-to-medium-sized texturing mills that rely heavily on external raw material procurement, with some mills depending on external PTA and POY supply, making their cost structure more flexible.
Industrial Logic Behind the Price Gap
From a capacity layout perspective, polyester DTY capacity in the Hangzhou area is concentrated in large integrated enterprises like Rongsheng and Hengyi, featuring large single-line capacity, high automation, and proximity to Ningbo Port, which lowers logistics costs for imported PX and MEG. Shaoxing's capacity is scattered across dozens of small-to-medium-sized texturing mills, each with an annual capacity of 30,000 to 50,000 tons, using mostly domestic equipment and producing mainly standard specifications with limited differentiation. This structure makes Shaoxing DTY prices more sensitive to fluctuations—when feedstock PTA or MEG prices rise, Shaoxing mills adjust prices more frequently and with larger swings due to a lack of raw material inventory buffers.
The widening of the price gap to 150 yuan/ton is also influenced by downstream demand structure. In early July, the weaving operating rate in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region remained around 68%, but product differentiation was evident. Downstream customers of Hangzhou DTY are mostly large home textile and apparel fabric mills with relatively stable orders and slightly lower price sensitivity. Shaoxing DTY mainly flows to small weaving mills and local markets, where customers tend to bargain aggressively during the off-season, forcing local texturing mills to compress profit margins.
Transmission Effects on the Supply Chain
A widening price gap directly alters downstream procurement behavior. For fabric mills with annual usage exceeding 1,000 tons, a 150 yuan/ton difference means annual raw material cost savings of over 150,000 yuan, which is enough to shift some procurement from Hangzhou to Shaoxing. However, buyers should note that supply stability from Shaoxing may be lower—small-to-medium-sized texturing mills face higher risks of production halts during high-temperature power rationing or raw material shortages. Thus, buyers must balance price with supply chain resilience.
From an upstream perspective, the price gap also influences POY pricing. Large Hangzhou chemical fiber mills typically produce their own POY and then texture it, while Shaoxing mills need to purchase POY externally. If the DTY price gap persists, Shaoxing texturing mills' profit margins will be squeezed, forcing them to pressure upstream POY suppliers, potentially leading to slight POY price easing. This is a classic signal of upstream-downstream bargaining.
Practical Recommendations
For Buyers - Monitor regional price spreads; if the gap exceeds 100 yuan/ton consistently, consider inquiring with Shaoxing suppliers, but verify their capacity guarantee plans during the July-August high-temperature power rationing period. - For high-value-added orders, prioritize large Hangzhou suppliers, as their product batch consistency is better, with lower variation in color difference and strength indicators. - Build a multi-region supplier base, leveraging price spreads for small-batch diversified procurement to reduce the risk of supply disruption from a single region.
For Mills/Texturing Enterprises - Small-to-medium-sized texturing mills in Shaoxing should optimize raw material inventory management, increasing POY stock when PTA and MEG prices are low to smooth raw material cost fluctuations. - Large Hangzhou enterprises can leverage the price advantage to proactively penetrate downstream customers in Shaoxing, offering 'guaranteed supply + price lock' services to expand market share. - All DTY producers should monitor downstream weaving operating rates; if the rate falls below 60% in August, proactively adjust capacity to avoid inventory buildup.
The 150 yuan polyester DTY price gap is not an endpoint but the starting point of a new round of regional capacity competition. In a context where margins across the polyester chain are under pressure, those who can better control costs and ensure supply stability will secure more orders during the off-season.