Chemical giants repeatedly raise prices! Rising costs combined with capacity warnings are reshaping the nylon industry landscape

Due to disruptions in the supply chain caused by international geopolitical conflicts and rising energy costs, the chemical new materials sector is experiencing frequent price hikes.

Recently, chemical giant Invista announced a price adjustment notice, stating that starting from 7:00 AM on April 1, 2026, the spot trading prices of two core chemical products will be increased simultaneously. Among them, the price of hexamethylenediamine surged by 7,800 yuan/ton within the month, while the price of PA66 (Nylon 66) rose by 5,400 yuan/ton within the same period, marking a significant event in the recent price fluctuations in the chemical new materials sector.

Chemical giants frequently raise prices

According to the price adjustment plan, Invista’s hexamethylenediamine price has been continuously increased since the beginning of the year, with January and February prices being 17,300 yuan/ton and 17,800 yuan/ton respectively. On March 1, it was adjusted to 18,200 yuan/ton and on March 10, it rose to 22,000 yuan/ton. On April 1, it was further increased to 26,000 yuan/ton, resulting in a cumulative increase of 8,700 yuan/ton since January. The price of PA66 products also rose, with January and February prices being 15,500 yuan/ton and 15,800 yuan/ton respectively, 16,200 yuan/ton on March 1, 21,000 yuan/ton on March 10, and 21,600 yuan/ton on April 1, quickly entering the “20,000 era”. Driven by price adjustments from leading companies, domestic hexamethylenediamine market quotes have also risen, with prices in Jiangsu, Shandong, and other regions reaching 22,000—23,000 yuan/ton on March 23, leading the industry overall into a price increase channel.

The core driver of this round of price increases comes from cost and supply disruptions in the global chemical industry chain. Since March 2026, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East has continued to escalate, obstructing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, affecting about 20% of global crude oil trade and the transportation of many chemical raw materials. International oil prices have surged, with the Middle East situation driving up energy premiums, as Brent crude oil briefly spiked to nearly 120 dollars per barrel. Institutions have raised price expectations to 110—120 dollars per barrel, and the supply of basic chemical raw materials such as benzene and ethylene has tightened, raising costs and forming the underlying logic for price increases across the entire industry chain.

Against this backdrop, global chemical giants have begun a collective price adjustment mode: BASF announced price increases of up to 30% for cleaning and industrial formulation products in Europe starting March 18, and similar products in North and South America will increase by up to 30% starting April 1; Henkel, DuPont, and the Evonik Group have also raised product prices by 10%—30%; Huntsman, Evonik, Wanhua Chemical, Lanxess, and Covestro have all raised prices, with increases of up to 50%, entering an upward cycle for global chemical prices.

The PA66 industry structure needs optimization

From the perspective of the industry chain, hexamethylenediamine, as the core raw material of PA66, directly determines the costs of downstream industries. Global production capacity for hexamethylenediamine is highly concentrated, with Invista, BASF, and Ascend being the leading companies, collectively holding a dominant position in capacity. Invista has an annual capacity of 500,000 tons, BASF has 260,000 tons, and Ascend has a total of 600,000 tons including shut down capacity. Domestically, with breakthroughs in domestic hexanedinitrile technology, local companies have achieved large-scale production of hexamethylenediamine, with Tianchen Qixiang, Huafeng Group, and Pingmei Shenma having annual capacities of 200,000 tons, 200,000 tons, and 150,000 tons respectively. The industry’s self-control capability continues to improve, but it is still affected by global supply fluctuations and cost transmission in the short term.

In contrast to the tight supply and rising prices of hexamethylenediamine, the domestic PA66 industry is facing significant supply and demand imbalance pressures. Data shows that by the end of 2025, China’s total PA66 production capacity will exceed 1.5 million tons/year, while domestic market demand is only about 800,000 tons/year, with an average annual growth rate of no more than 10%, and the capacity growth rate far exceeds the demand growth rate.

According to incomplete statistics, about 30 companies are involved in the construction and proposed projects for domestic PA66, including Xinhecheng, China National Chemical, Tianchen Qixiang, Huafeng Group, Shenma shares, and Hengli Petrochemical. Combined with already commissioned capacity, the total planned capacity may exceed 10 million tons, leading to an ongoing accumulation of risks related to industry overcapacity. Currently, PA66 has been listed in the key new materials capacity warning directory by relevant national authorities, and the risks arising from disorderly expansion in the industry are receiving high attention.

From the perspective of downstream applications, PA66, as a high-performance engineering plastic, is widely used in the automotive, electronics, industrial machinery, and textiles sectors, with the automotive sector accounting for about 42% and electronics accounting for 25%. It is a key material for lightweighting in new energy vehicles and structural components of electronic devices. According to data from the Business Society, on March 18, the benchmark price of PA66 was reported at 19,533.33 yuan/ton, with a weekly increase of 3.17%. The market is showing a pattern of firm raw material prices, reduced low-price sources, and traders reluctant to sell, while downstream enterprises are taking a wait-and-see attitude, leading to a gradual slowdown in cost transmission. In the short term, the price increase of hexamethylenediamine will continue to support PA66 prices; in the medium to long term, pressure from overcapacity will gradually become apparent, squeezing profit margins in the industry.

Industry insiders indicate that the current PA66 industry chain presents a structural contradiction of “tight balance in upstream raw materials and overcapacity in downstream,” with short-term prices being driven by costs, while medium to long-term trends depend on the pace of capacity release and the strength of demand recovery.

Multiple chemical industry institutions have pointed out that while breakthroughs in domestic hexanedinitrile production have enhanced the stability of the domestic PA66 industry chain, the industry should be wary of the risk of overcapacity brought about by blind expansion. It is recommended that companies focus on high-end and differentiated development, laying out high-end application areas such as automotive lightweighting, electronic chemicals, and new energy, to enhance product added value; at the same time, they should rationally plan capacity to avoid low-level repeated construction.