North American Nylon 6,6 Prices Fall

New York, NY, March 20, 2009--North American nylon 6,6 prices have slipped by 3 cents per pound to $1.37 this month, continuing its recent history of see-saw pricing because of lethargic purchasing and what analysts say are competitive attempts by some suppliers to capture market share, according to a story in Purchasing.com.

Nylon orders in North America continue to be described as slow, and chances of an improvement are seen as thin because of weak activity in the automotive and construction industries. A slight uptick in buys from firms that make garden tools were reported to be far behind levels seen at the same time in previous years. Sources said that March demand for nylon overall in the U.S. was at least 30% lower than last year and demand was not expected to change significantly in coming months.

Although there were no across-the-board decreases, market sources have told ICISpricing.com that the up-and-down in the $1.37 to $1.41 range since December continues to reflect major discounts off the $1.51-$1.65 range that was in play from last spring through early winter. The sales discounts are prevalent because demand has remained lackluster for the semi-crystalline polyamide that is used mostly in such depressed fiber applications as carpeting, clothing, and tire cord--and as an engineering material in bearings and gears.

Low-priced imports aren’t an issue, though, because demand has slowed globally, just like in the U.S., nylon producers in Europe, Asia and South America have slashed production rates or have idled operations to restrain global oversupply.