SunSirs: Facing a Double Whammy of Negative Factors, Polyamide Filament Prices Fell Sharply in 2025, and This Weak Trend Will Continue into 2026

In 2025, the domestic polyamide filament market remained weak throughout the year, driven by negative factors on both the cost and demand sides. Prices fell significantly, with an annual decline of around 20%, reaching a new low in the past five years.

Prices declined significantly throughout the year.

The price of polyamide DTY at the end of 2025 was 13,760 RMB/ton, a decrease of 3,320 RMB/ton compared to the beginning of the year, representing an annual decline of 19.44%. The price of polyamide POY at the end of 2025 was 11,500 RMB/ton, a decrease of 3,150 RMB/ton compared to the beginning of the year, representing an annual decline of 21.50%. The price of polyamide FDY at the end of 2025 was 14,275 RMB/ton, a decrease of 2,650 RMB/ton compared to the beginning of the year, representing an annual decline of 20.36%.

Polyamide yarn price trends in 2025

Price trend characteristics

Overall Trend: Continuous decline, with a drop exceeding 20%

Taking polyamide DTY as an example, the price fell from 17,080 RMB/ton at the beginning of the year to 13,560 RMB/ton in November, with a maximum annual drop of 20.61%; it only rebounded slightly to 13,760 RMB/ton in December, remaining at a low level compared to the past five years.

Stage Characteristics: "Accelerated decline → Low-level fluctuation → Slight rebound"

First half of the year (January-July): Accelerated decline

From January to July, the price fell from 17,090 RMB/ton to 14,320 RMB/ton, a decrease of 16.16%, showing a trend of "continuous decline every month."

Second half of the year (August-November): Low-level fluctuations

From August to November, prices fluctuated within the range of 13,500-14,320 RMB/ton, with the decline narrowing but remaining at historically low levels.

End of the year (December): Slight rebound

In December, prices rose slightly to 13,760 RMB/ton, an increase of 0.29%, ending the continuous downward trend.

Reasons for the sharp decline in polyamide yarn prices in 2025

The price of the raw material caprolactam had fallen sharply.

The price fluctuation chart of the polyamide industry chain showed that costs had fallen sharply. The core raw material for polyamide filament is caprolactam (accounting for over 70% of the cost), and its price has long been strongly correlated with the price of caprolactam. In 2025, the caprolactam market  experienced "ample supply + insufficient demand." The upstream raw material, caprolactam, largely determines the price trend of polyamide filament. In 2025, the price trends of both are expected to show a weak, broad decline.

In 2025, the caprolactam market price showed a high-level decline, but ended the year with an upward trend. The overall decline for the year was 12.31%, directly lowering the cost support for polyamide DTY. Throughout the year, there were fewer periods of price increases, and the periods of decline were longer, mainly from February to October. Although there were some short-term, small-scale rebounds during this period, they were brief and limited in magnitude.

The annual production capacity of caprolactam reached 7.5 million tons, but the production growth rate was only 5.38% (due to maintenance), resulting in an overall surplus in supply.

Supply-demand imbalance: Supply surplus + Weak demand

Supply side: Capacity expansion + High inventory levels

In 2025, new production capacity was released in the polyamide DTY industry (such as new facilities coming online in Jiangsu and Fujian provinces), resulting in an estimated year-on-year increase in capacity of approximately 5.5%. However, the industry's operating rate only remained between 82% and 88%; at the same time, company inventories continued to accumulate, and this supply pressure will directly suppress prices.

In recent years, the production of polyamide filament has maintained steady growth. In 2023, China's polyamide filament production reached 4.44 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 8.29%; in 2024, the production was 4.67 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.18%. In 2025, the production is projected to be 4.95 million tons, a year-on-year increase of nearly 6.00%. For the past three years, my country's annual production of polyamide filament has exceeded 4 million tons, accounting for approximately one-third of the global total production.

Demand side: The downstream textile industry was sluggish.

Polyamide DTY is mainly used in clothing, home textiles, and other fields. In 2025, weak end-consumer demand (such as a year-on-year decline in clothing exports and a slowdown in domestic retail growth) resulted in a weaving machine operating rate of only 69% for downstream weaving enterprises (a decrease of 5 percentage points year-on-year). Demand for raw materials was primarily driven by "essential replenishment," leading to poor demand transmission. Even during the traditional peak season of September and October, there was no significant improvement in demand. Towards the end of the year, as downstream factories gradually entered the order completion phase, demand weakened again.

Factors affecting the polyamide market in 2026

Supply-demand imbalance persists: In 2025, the domestic polyamide filament market continued to experience an oversupply, with a production-consumption gap of 750,000 tons. Production capacity was continuously increasing, therefore, the overall supply in the polyamide filament market is expected to remain ample in 2026. Domestic market demand is limited and highly seasonal, with little prospect of significant improvement. Furthermore, there is a possibility of a continuous decrease in demand from the international market. Therefore, a decrease in downstream demand for polyamide filament is expected in 2026. The supply-demand imbalance will continue in 2026, and the situation is unlikely to change in the short term.

The prospects for a significant recovery in the price of the raw material caprolactam are slim: In 2026, the caprolactam industry will likely see a mismatch between supply and demand, with slow supply expansion and rapid demand growth, leading to a continuous optimization of the supply-demand relationship. Although the price of caprolactam in 2026 starts from a low point compared to the past five years, and the upstream benzene market is oversupplied, resulting in weak cost support, this may limit the upward potential of prices. Overall, the caprolactam industry is expected to exhibit characteristics of "improved supply and demand but limited price recovery."

Polyamide price trend forecast for 2026

In 2025, polyamide filament prices remained at a low level compared to previous years. While there is a possibility of a slight upward correction in 2026, the market is likely to remain weak. Looking ahead to 2026, overall, the caprolactam raw material market is unlikely to see significant price recovery, limiting the cost-side support for the polyamide filament market. Increased supply is anticipated, and coupled with the lack of significant improvement in downstream demand, the supply-demand imbalance is expected to persist.

Therefore, it is expected that the polyamide filament market will remain weak in 2026, with prices fluctuating in line with raw material price changes.  Overall, the market price will see a slight increase throughout the year, but prices will remain at a relatively low level.

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