During the third quarter, nylon 6 chip capacity in China increased by 20.6 per cent. Consumption of nylon textile filament and staple fiber tumbled in 2019 while that of engineering plastic and film only grew moderately.

From January to August 2019, nylon 6 chip imports reduced by 11.2 per cent. The proportion of imports from Taiwan fell from 42.2 per cent to 21.4 per cent. As for the significant decrease in China’s imports from Taiwan, it was mainly due to the fact that China started production of huge volumes of new high-speed spinning chips. So with much cheaper prices (also considering transportation fees, shipment terms etc.), nylon 6 chips produced in the Chinese mainland replaced those from Taiwan gradually. Imports from Russia and South Korea decreased slightly. However, imports from Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia increased significantly, and imports from Vietnam, Belarus, and Germany increased slightly. Thailand surpassed Russia and became the second largest source of nylon 6 chip imports for China. There was also notable growth from Saudi Arabia. In the second half of 2018, imports from Saudi Arabia expanded significantly.

Should this trend continue in future, new caprolactam plants will open and the cost of feedstock will fall further.