The Nylon markets are covered by our local ICIS reporters in Asia, Europe and the US on a weekly basis.
Our unbiased and informative commentary gives an overview, details on upstream movements, graphs and intelligence about the different grades. In Asia, spot prices focus on textile grades for fully-drawn yarn, partially oriented yarn, industrial grade and chips. In Europe, Nylon 6, Nylon 6,6 and virgin polymer quotations are published, while in the US, Nylon 6 resin and Nylon 6,6 are assessed. These invaluable and reliable reports will assist you when making key business decisions.
Updated to Q4 2020
Asia
Supply dipped, as a feedstock shortage forced some producers in northeast Asia to reduce operating rates at nylon polymerisation facilities. A major producer had no choice but to shut its plant temporarily for a week amid a severe lack of feedstock, which contributed to the overall supply constraint.
Demand saw some improvement, after suffering from weak sales for most of the year. Restocking for typical winter demand led to improvements in yarn demand. Forecasts of a colder-than-usual winter in several regions in northeast Asia also helped boost sales of winter apparel, supporting nylon demand.
Europe
Nylon 6 supply in Q4 was tight, largely due to an unexpected technical issue at LANXESS, a major integrated capro and nylon 6 producer in Belgium, but also due to increased downstream demand. Aside from increased downstream consumption, many buyers expected feedstock costs to rise again in January, prompting early restocking. Nylon 6,6 supply was short, mainly due to structural output limitations and robust demand from the automotive industry.
Nylon 6 buying interest from many downstream sectors, especially noted in engineering plastics for automotive and household industries, picked up significantly in Q4. Fibres, yarns, electric and electronic applications were also doing rather well and packaging was stable. Demand for nylon 6,6 was high as the automotive sector ramped up output by the end of 2020 with some pre-buying also taking place.
US
Supply was tight and producers had trouble keeping up with demand as the US economy continued to recover. Long lead times persisted for 6 and 6,6 and distributors had difficulty rebuilding inventory. An outage and force majeure for nylon 6 and caprolactam at Lanxess’ 220,000 tonne/year facility in Antwerp, Belgium, tightened global supplies. In early December, US Ascend Performance Materials declared force majeure on nylon 6,6 after a power outage at its Pensacola, Florida facility.
End-use demand was strong in the automotive, housing, electronics and appliance sectors. US sales of light vehicles improved dramatically from the summer months. About half of US nylon demand and a third of global nylon demand comes from the auto sector, according to ICIS Analytics. The coronavirus pandemic led to more people moving away from cities and a rise in remote working, which led to home remodeling and expansion projects.
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Nylons are one of the most common polymers used as a fibre. Another name for this material is polyamide, due to the characteristic amide groups in the backbone chain.
Nylon, also called polyamide, is used mainly in fibre and engineering polymer applications. The two main nylons are nylon 6, which is made from caprolactam, and nylon 6,6, which is produced from adipic acid.
Nylon fibres are used in apparel such as ladies’ hosiery (stockings), sleepwear and underwear, carpets and home furnishings. Other fibre applications include tyre cord, fishing line, brush bristles and tough fabrics for parachutes, backpacks and luggage.
Nylon engineering resins are employed in automotive parts such as bearings, gears, cams and intake manifolds.
Other applications include industrial machinery and electrical and electronic equipment. Compounding the nylon with reinforcements, fillers, impact modifiers, flame retardants and other additives further enhances its properties to give a wider range of applications.
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