Nylon 6 Chip Market in China

By Chang Min, China National Chemical Economic and Technical Development Centre

Supply

In 2005, China was able to make around 1 186kt/a of nylon 6 chips, and by 2015, capacity increased to 3 392kt/a,after average annual growth exceeding 12.8%. Actual output increased from 690kt in 2005 to 2 374kt in 2015, with average annual growth of 11.9%. Table 1 shows the capacities of major nylon 6 chip producers in China in 2015.
By the end of 2015, there were around 40 nylon 6 chip producers in China. The biggest was Fujian Jinjiang Technology Co., Ltd., at 250kt/a. Guangdong Xinhui Meida Nylon Co., Ltd., Wuxi Changan Polymer Materials Factory Co., Ltd. and Fujian Changle Liheng Polyamide Technology Co., Ltd. followed, each capable of 180kt/a. The top 15 producers in terms of capacity were, together, capable of 1 787kt/a, or 52.7% of the national capacity.
Capacity is concentrated mainly in Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Fujian had the most in 2015, at 725kt/a, or 21.4% of the national total. Jiangsu had 637kt/a, or 18.8%, while Zhejiang had 450kt/a, or 13.3%.
Capacity will keep increasing in the next few years. Quite a few new units are expected to start up during 2016-2017, adding around 1 085kt/a of new capacity. Examples include a 300kt/a unit of Fujian Zhongjin New Materials Co., Ltd., a 100kt/a unit of Jiangsu Weiming Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a 75kt/a unit of Highsun Synthetic Fiber Technology Co., Ltd., a 110kt/a unit of Fujian Sinolong Industrial Co., Ltd., a 300kt/a unit of Zhejiang Jinyuan New Material Co., Ltd. and a 200kt/a unit of Pingmei Shenma Group Jiangsu Yongtong New Materials Co., Ltd.

Table 1   Major nylon 6 chip producers in China, 2015

Region    Producer    Capacity (kt/a)
Fujian    Fujian Jinjiang Technology Co., Ltd.    250
Guangdong    Guangdong XinhuiMeida Nylon Co., Ltd.    180
Jiangsu    Wuxi ChangAnPolymer Materials Factory Co., Ltd.    180
Fujian    Fujian ChangleLiheng Polyamide Technology Co., Ltd.    180
Fujian    Fujian Kaibang Polyamide Technology Co., Ltd.    150
Hunan    Yueyang Baling Petrochemical Co., Ltd. Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd.    110
Jiangsu    Jiangsu Junma Group Co., Ltd.    110
Jiangsu    Jiangsu Hongsheng New Materials Co., Ltd.    100
Zhejiang    YiwuHuading Nylon Co., Ltd.    80
Fujian    QuanzhouTianyu Chemical Fiber Weaving Industry Co., Ltd.    80
Shandong    Shandong Xiangyu Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd.    80
Jiangsu    Jiangsu Ruimeifu Industrial Co., Ltd.    75
Jiangsu    Jiangsu Haiyang Chemical Fibers Co., Ltd.    72
Zhejiang    Zhejiang Huajian Nylon Co., Ltd.    70
Zhejiang    Hangzhou Hongfu Nylon Co., Ltd.    70
Zhejiang    Zhejiang Mesbon Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd.    70
Fujian    Changle Creator Nylon Industrial Co., Ltd.    65
Shanghai    BASF Shanghai Chemical Co., Ltd.    100
Shandong    Shandong Luxi Chemical Co., Ltd.    60
Zhejiang    Hangzhou Juheshun New Material Co., Ltd.    160
Jiangsu    Jiangsu Jiangshanhong Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd.    100
Others        1 050
Total        3 392


Demand

China’s apparent consumption of nylon 6 chips in 2015 was 2 767kt, after a YoY increase of 6.2%, and national self-sufficiency reached 85.8%. Table 2 shows the consumption of nylon 6 chips in China in recent years.
Applications of nylon 6 chips are extremely extensive. Chips can be classified by application into varieties for fibers, engineering plastics, films and composites. Various products can be processed from different varieties of nylon 6 chips.
Fiber made from nylon 6 chip is commonly called polyamide 6 fiber. Polyamide 6 filament is the most important polyamide fiber. It is classified by civil use and industrial use. Over 60% of the total output of polyamide 6 fiber is civil use polyamide 6 filament. Industrial use polyamide 6 filament is used mainly to produce cord fabrics. Most of China’s supply of polyamide 6 cord fabric is used in producing bias tires. Radial tires have made up a rapidly increasing proportion of China’s tire output in recent years and bias tires have suffered a declining proportion, so consumption of polyamide 6 fiber in making bias tires can hardly be expected to grow. China consumed 1 670kt of nylon 6 chip fiber in 2014, when the capacity was 2 480kt/a. In 2015, consumption and capacity grew to 1 790kt and 2 650kt/a respectively. Consumption in 2016 is estimated at 1 900kt,while capacity was 2 800kt/a.
Lots of substitutes for nylon 6 chips have come to be used in making engineering plastics, so consumption in that sector is very low and major breakthroughs are hardly expected.
Nylon 6 chip films can be used in making various packaging materials. Nylon composites – including impact-resistant nylon and heat-resistant reinforced nylon – are used to produce tools with special requirements. For example, heat-resistant reinforced nylon is used to produce hammer drills.
Growth of demand for nylon 6 chips will likely slow down, and oversupply may worsen in the next few years.

Table 2   Consumption of nylon 6 chips in China, 2011-2015   (kt)

Year    Output    Import volume    Export volume    Apparent consumption    Self-sufficiency (%)
2011    1049    543    54    1538    68.2
2012    1662    598    60    2200    75.5
2013    1892    2743    49    2473    76.5
2014    2119    1164    49    2605    81.3
2015    2374    752    57    2767    85.8

Table 3   China’s foreign trade in nylon 6 chips, 2011-2015

Year    Import    Export
    Volume (kt)    Value
(US$ millions)    Volume (kt)    Value
(US$ millions)
2011    543    1873.1    54    179.3
2012    598    1715.9    60    181.3
2013    2743    1733.6    49    141.4
2014    1164    1406.2    49    138.7
2015    752    922.6    57    133.1


Foreign trade

China is a net importer of nylon 6 chips, and imported 449kt in 2015, a drop of 86kt or 16.0% from the previous year. The main import sources included Taiwan of China, Russia and Belarus, accounting respectively for 44.3%, 7.8% and 7.5% of the total volume. Zhejiang received the most, accounting for 30.7%. Shanghai and Fujian came next, taking 19.5% and 17.8%,respectively. Shanghai Customs handled the largest share of it, accounting for 35.7% of the total. Ningbo Customs and Hangzhou Customs came next, handling 20.2% and 10.3%,respectively.
China exported 57kt of nylon 6 chips in 2015, an increase of 8kt, or 16.0%, over the previous year. Jiangsu exported most, accounting for 52.4% of the total. Shanghai and Guangdong came next, exporting 29.6% and 16.4%, respectively. Japan was the major destination, taking 24.2% of the total. Hong Kong and Thailand came next, taking 18.4% and 16.1%,respectively. Shanghai Customs handled most of it: 81.9% of the total. Jiangmen Customs and Shenzhen Customs, respectively, handled 9.7% and 4.7%.
Table 3 shows China’s import and export of nylon 6 chips in recent years.
With the domestic supply increasing, China will import a declining volume of nylon 6 chips in the next few years, but export more.

Market price

In 2015, domestic market prices of nylon 6 chips mainly went up in the first five months and then fell. In East China, the average was RMB14 100/t at the beginning of January. It started to come down, stopping at RMB12 800/t in early February, and then rebounded and peaked at RMB15 600/t during early and mid-May, followed by a plummet to RMB11 200/t at the end of the year.