In 2026, the nylon industry is undergoing a profound supply-side restructuring. Signals from the China Chemical Fiber Industry Association's nylon branch annual meeting indicate a shift from 'capacity race' to 'quality and efficiency priority,' with 'rejecting ineffective involution' becoming a consensus across the supply chain. Behind this transition lies the dual pressure of phased overcapacity and a complex international situation, prompting the industry to urgently seek new growth logic.
Event Background
In mid-August, the nylon branch annual meeting and innovation development forum was held in Shantou, Guangdong, gathering leading companies like Hengshen, Shenma, and Yongrong, as well as research institutions such as Donghua University and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. The conference focused on the current status and pain points of nylon 6 and nylon 66 supply chains, clearly identifying the industry as being in a 'slowing capacity expansion but intensifying competition' transition period. Key figures including Chen Xinwei, president of the association, and Mei Zhen, chairman of the branch, attended, underscoring the meeting's role in setting the tone for the industry's future direction.
Shantou, as the host city, provided a representative case of industrial transformation. Weng Chuangjie, president of the Shantou Textile and Garment Industry Association, introduced how the local industry has moved from 'fragmented and extensive' to 'full-chain aggregation,' with the clustering effect of nylon and nylon-spandex knitted fabric production bases beginning to show. This reflects how regional industrial belts are responding to profit compression in single links by integrating upstream and downstream resources, offering a replicable path for other clusters.
Industrial Impact
Technological breakthroughs were the strongest signal from the conference. Professor Cai Zhengguo's team at Donghua University unveiled a caprolactam anionic ring-opening polymerization and melt direct spinning technology, compressing the polymerization cycle to just over ten minutes and reducing cyclic dimer residue to below 0.01wt%, directly solving the pain points of long traditional hydrolysis cycles and difficult direct spinning. This means nylon 6 production efficiency and quality stability will see qualitative leaps, and although large-scale commercialization is not imminent, it provides head-start companies with technological reserves that could reshape cost structures over the next three to five years.
Differentiation and functionalization have become key to breaking through. Hangzhou Jiersi's halogen-free flame-retardant nylon chips, with an oxygen index of 30%-32%, are compatible with POY/FDY/BCF spinning processes, and blending with Lyocell fibers solves melt-drip issues. Such products directly respond to upgraded flame-retardant textile standards at home and abroad, implying higher added value for export-oriented enterprises. Meanwhile, Zhejiang Jincai's over 20 functional masterbatches, such as graphene antibacterial masterbatch (antibacterial rate above 99%) and cooling masterbatches, are driving nylon from basic fabrics to high-performance applications.
Smart manufacturing and green energy implementation are altering the industry's cost curve. Professor Hu Xudong from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University noted that digital transformation in the chemical fiber industry has entered the intelligent stage, with embodied robots becoming the core of low-staff factories. Sian New Energy's smart comprehensive energy solutions, tailored to nylon's high electricity and heat demands, provide carbon management platforms to help enterprises systematically reduce costs and emissions. For small and medium factories, while the entry barrier to these technologies is high, failure to follow up may lead to cost disadvantages in future competition.