September 15, 2016 Updated 9/15/2016
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Lower global demand and feedstock prices have allowed North American prices for nylon 6 and 6/6 resins to decline in recent months.
Prices for both materials are down an average of 4 cents per pound since June 1, according to market watchers contacted by Plastics News. The recent 4-cent drop for nylon 6 comes after prices for that material had slumped by an average of 10 cents per pound between January and May. Those declines mainly were tied to lower feedstock costs.
Although demand from the automotive market remains solid, other markets have consumed less nylon so far in 2016, sources said. Most recently, German materials giant BASF SE on Sept. 12 announced plans to remove more than 200 million pounds of annual capacity for nylon feedstock caprolactam in Europe in the next 18 months.
Officials with BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany, said that the move is being made to strengthen BASF’s nylon 6 value chain in a difficult market environment.
