Fiber Market Intelligence Weekly Report 【2026/07/18-07/24】

Hello! We are back with the latest trends in the global fiber market 🌍✨ This week's market was defined by two major themes: the "intense volatility" driven by fluctuations in crude oil prices, and the aggressive price hikes by major polyester manufacturers aiming to "break away from price wars (involution)." Additionally, in the carbon fiber sector, China's mass production technology has begun to demonstrate cost competitiveness so significant it is being described as "cabbage pricing," accelerating its implementation in next-generation mobility and the aerospace industry.

This report is packed with information that can serve as hints for your business and investments, so be sure to check it out until the end!

1. 🌐 Overall Trends in the Chemical Fiber Industry (Detailed)

The chemical fiber market this week saw a complex development where extreme volatility in upstream raw materials intersected with a power struggle among downstream manufacturers.

• 🎢 Extreme Volatility in the Raw Material Market: The PTA (polyester raw material) futures market showed extremely unstable price movements, influenced by geopolitical risks in the Middle East and Brent crude oil breaking through $94. The market formed a roller-coaster pattern within a single day, such as "a 2% drop at the opening, a 3% surge during the day, and a 3% drop at the close," causing PTA factory operating rates to fall to their lowest levels on record.

• 🛡️ Major-Led "Anti-Price War (Anti-Involution)": Amidst volatile raw material prices and sluggish demand, the three major giants in the polyester filament market, including Hengli Petrochemical and Rongsheng Petrochemical, have taken the lead in initiating an "anti-involution war (breaking away from excessive price competition)." They have shown a bullish stance by simultaneously raising product prices by 100-200 yuan, prompting downstream companies to replenish their inventories.

• 📈 Polarization and Recovery of Performance: Changes are occurring in the profit structure across the industry. Rongsheng Petrochemical saw its net profit for the first half of the year surge sevenfold due to the recovery of the PX (paraxylene) market. Companies that control upstream raw materials or have shifted to high-performance materials are delivering strong financial results.

2. 🚢 Trends in International Trade and Supply Chains (Moderately Detailed)

In the global market, China's overwhelming production capacity is changing the structure of supply chains.

• 🥬 The "Cabbage Pricing" of Carbon Fiber and Its International Impact: Japanese media reported with emotion that "for the past 50 years, China's carbon fiber technology has been suppressed, but now they are selling it at 'cabbage prices' (very cheaply)." This symbolizes that the Chinese carbon fiber industry has established technological independence and overwhelming economies of scale, and is beginning to hold global pricing power.

• 🚢 Acceleration of Polyester Futures Internationalization: In China, the "first bonded delivery" regarding export-type automotive and marine plates for polyester bottle chips has been successfully completed. This further advances the opening of the polyester futures market to the outside world and strengthens the hub function of the Chinese market in international trade.

• 🌍 Global Collaboration of Suppliers: In the textile machinery and auxiliary sector, European companies are localizing for emerging markets, such as Benninger AG and Grupo NS strengthening their partnership to build a system that provides dyeing and finishing expertise directly to Brazilian customers.

3. 🧵 Trends by Specific Fiber

• ⬛ Carbon Fiber: Mass production and process engineering of T1100S-grade and T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fibers have been successfully achieved one after another (thinner than a human hair, with the strength to tow an empty C919 aircraft). In terms of applications, it is spreading explosively from sports equipment (99-yuan table tennis rackets) to defense and space, such as lightweight parts supporting the 1.7-second acceleration of BYD's luxury car "Yangwang U8" and civil aircraft (GE90 engine blades), and even Ukraine's "Darts" missiles.

• 👕 Polyester: While troubled by the volatility of raw materials, high-performance non-woven fabrics such as anti-static polyester needle-punched felt are seeing increased demand as solid-liquid and solid-gas separation filters across multiple industries.

• 🌱 Nylon: Regardless of the volatility of crude oil, the raw material caprolactam has remained "as stable as Mount Tai," and the nylon sector as a whole showed a steady trend, recording a 3% daily stock price increase.

• ✨ Spandex: Market sentiment has improved rapidly, with the sector as a whole recording a significant 6% daily rise. A short-term rebound trend has become clear.

4. 🏢 Notable Corporate News (Summary of Key Points)

• 🇨🇳 Donghua Energy: Successfully completed trial runs for Guangdong Province's first T1000-grade carbon fiber line. It is accelerating its full-scale entry into the commercial space industry and AI hardware sector.

• 🇨🇳 Xinde New Material: Net profit for the first half of the year surged sixfold. The carbon fiber business has achieved a complete breakthrough as the company's "second growth curve."

• 🇯🇵 Toray: Announced functional carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) parts with high X-ray permeability for medical devices and inspection equipment, pioneering a niche high-value-added market.

• 🇨🇳 Hengyi Petrochemical & Rongsheng Petrochemical: Major filament manufacturers have teamed up to launch a price hike offensive (anti-involution) to end cutthroat competition in the polyester market.

5. ⚙️ Information on Textile Machinery, Auxiliaries, and Spinning Oil Suppliers

This week, patents and standardization efforts that dramatically increase production efficiency were prominent.

• 🧪 New Patents and Standardization for Spinning Oils: Four companies, including Xin Feng Ming, have jointly applied for a patent for a "polyester POY spinning oil that improves stable performance and oil film strength even at low oil pick-up rates." Furthermore, the industry association standard for "fine denier nylon pre-oriented yarn (POY) oil" has entered the public comment stage, advancing the homogenization of quality.

• 🤖 Specialized Equipment for Carbon Fiber:

  • Jinlong Sports Equipment: Obtained a patent for a "cutting machine" that prevents folding or unevenness when carbon fiber cloth falls.

  • Kaitai Petrochemical: Obtained a patent for a condensate recovery device that efficiently utilizes waste steam heat in the heat-setting process of dry PAN-based precursor fibers, achieving energy savings.

6. 📊 Weekly Digest of Fiber Price Trends

This is a trend commentary for the target period (7/18-24), based on the "sharp drop followed by bottoming out" seen over the past month for various fibers and raw materials.

🔹 PX, PTA, MEG

• Recent Prices: PTA benchmark price approx. 6,041 yuan/ton, main futures contract fluctuating between approx. 5,688-5,946 yuan/ton. PX approx. 8,400 yuan/ton.

• Trend Commentary [Extreme Volatility, Jittery Market]: Over the past month, prices fell due to the fading of geopolitical risks and then bottomed out, but this week, the re-rise in crude oil prices (breaking $94 for Brent) clashed with historically low operating rates at PTA plants. The market has entered a very jittery, volatile trend with fluctuations of several percent within a single day.

🔹 Polyester (POY / DTY / FDY / Staple Fiber)

• Recent Prices: POY approx. 7,300-7,450 yuan/ton, DTY approx. 9,275 yuan/ton, FDY approx. 8,745 yuan/ton, staple fiber 7,547 yuan/ton.

• Trend Commentary [Manufacturer-Led Bullish/Price Hike Trend]: Reversing the weakness caused by lack of demand over the past month, major manufacturers (such as Rongsheng) have announced bullish price hikes of 100-200 yuan against the backdrop of rising raw material costs. Although it is unclear whether actual demand supports this, manufacturers have a strong will to "correct cutthroat competition," and the trend is to force prices upward.

🔹 Nylon (POY / FDY / Raw Material: Caprolactam)

• Recent Prices: POY approx. 13,500-13,800 yuan/ton, DTY 15,980 yuan/ton. Raw material (caprolactam) spread +25.12 yuan/ton.

• Trend Analysis [Firm Stability/Upward Trend]: Prices had been falling since the end of May, but this week, the raw material caprolactam remained 'as stable as Mount Tai,' ignoring the volatility in crude oil, and the spread expanded into positive territory. In response, nylon product prices have stopped falling, and the sector saw a very firm trend, with stock prices rising by 3%.

🔹 Rayon (Viscose Staple Fiber)

• Recent Prices: 1.2D standard approx. 14,000-14,200 yuan/ton.

• Trend Analysis [Stable Trend at High Levels]: It has consistently maintained the 14,000 yuan level for the past month. This week, companies like Nanjing Chemical Fiber continued to trade at 14,000 yuan/ton, maintaining a trend of the least price volatility among synthetic fibers and a stable supply-demand balance.

🔹 Spandex

• Trend Analysis [Sharp Rebound Trend]: Over the past month, prices had been softening and adjusting from high levels due to a lack of demand. However, with news of significant profit margin improvements at major companies permeating the market, the sector entered a strong, sharp rebound trend this week, with some days seeing gains of 6% across the sector.

That is all for this week's report! It was a week that tested the market's power balance, characterized by raw material volatility and aggressive price hikes by manufacturers. The cost-disruptive power of Chinese carbon fiber is also likely to reshape various industries in the future. Look forward to the next update!

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