This week, the overall price of polyester filament has shown a downward trend. As we enter the weekend, manufacturers are increasingly reluctant to sell at low prices, and local discounts have narrowed. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, on April 27th, the mainstream polyester filament factories in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province quoted POY (150D/48F) at 6300-6500 yuan/ton, polyester DTY (150D/48F low elasticity) at 7500-8000 yuan/ton, and polyester FDY (150D/96F) at 6500-6800 yuan/ton.

Supply side: Since mid April, the polyester industry has ushered in a new round of plant shutdown and maintenance, and the overall capacity utilization rate of the industry has shown a slight downward trend, gradually falling from 95.39% in early April to 92.88%. However, the polyester filament industry has shown strong resilience, with an overall operating rate of over 90% and a stable capacity utilization rate of around 94%. Although some facilities have been shut down, the overall production capacity of the industry is huge, and the market supply is still sufficient. In this context, enterprises are adopting price reduction and promotion strategies to compete for limited market share, attempting to stimulate sales through price advantages, reflecting the severe situation of oversupply in the current polyester market.
On the demand side: Although downstream industries have seen some degree of recovery in operating rates after the holiday, the overall level is still relatively low. As of Friday, the operating rates of loading, weaving, and printing and dyeing in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions were only 70%, 65%, and 71% respectively, which intuitively reveals the weak trend of the downstream textile industry. Affected by sluggish market demand, downstream textile enterprises have significantly reduced their order volume, resulting in a severe contraction in the demand for polyester filament procurement. At present, the procurement strategy of enterprises is highly cautious, mainly focusing on meeting urgent needs and restocking, and large-scale hoarding behavior is rare. This cautious purchasing attitude directly leads to a sustained downturn in the demand side of the polyester filament market, making it difficult to form strong support for prices.
Cost side: PTA and ethylene glycol, as the core raw materials for polyester filament production, have a significant impact on the cost of polyester filament due to their price trends. Recently, the PTA market has experienced frequent price fluctuations and lacks clear directional guidance; The price of ethylene glycol remained relatively stable without significant fluctuations. Overall, the raw material market is in a period of fluctuation and adjustment, which has failed to provide solid cost support for the price of polyester filament. The weak performance on the cost side has led to a lack of upward momentum in the pricing of polyester filament, further exacerbating the weak market situation.
International trade: The uncertainty of the international trade environment, especially the issue of tariffs, has brought huge challenges to China’s textile exports. As an important export destination for Chinese textiles, the US market has become cautious about importing Chinese textiles due to tariff issues. Textile enterprises are facing the dilemma of highly uncertain future order volumes, so they are naturally more cautious when purchasing raw materials such as polyester filament. This cautious sentiment has spread within the industry, further suppressing the market demand for polyester filament and exacerbating the already sluggish domestic market.
Overall, the polyester industry is currently facing multiple challenges, including sustained supply pressure, weak demand recovery, limited cost support, and a complex and ever-changing international trade environment. Business Society believes that in the short term, the price of polyester filament may continue to fluctuate narrowly, and in the future, it is necessary to focus on the trend of crude oil, the pace of terminal order recovery, and enterprise differentiation strategies.