Nylon 66 and Nylon 6 prices are up in the 1st quarter of 2011

Nylon 66 (PA 66) and Nylon 6 (PA 6) prices are both up in January 2011. I think that we have reached another historic high in pricing for both products, and that both markets will remain strong through the first half of 2011. In China Caprolactam (CPL) is trading at over $3020/MT for January, while the contract price for prime CPL is in the $2940-$2960/MT range for the month. Most of the major USA PA 6 producers have announced price increases for February that will stick, as long as China comes back into the market strong after the Chinese New Year in early February. With the latest round of announced increases expect to see the price of prime Nylon 6 pellets move into the $1.40/lb. range and above for large volume buyers. The main factors driving these current increases are that the demand for both tire cord, and drawn fiber have continued to be strong in China. The Nylon 6 price will soften sometime in early 2011, because the price of CPL should be selling somewhere around $2600/MT. The current market condition is partially due to traders speculating on continued price increases in the CPL market.

The Nylon 66 market continues to be strong as well in early 2011. 2010 was a year of continuous price increases in the cost of wide-specification Nylon 66 pellets and fibers, and I think 2011 will be another year of strong demand and higher prices for the material. Both of the domestic PA 66 producers are increasing their capacity this year, but don’t look for the increased volume to cause a drop in price. Both producers are in a sold out position for the first half of 2011, so there will not be any excess capacity in this market until after mid-2011 at the earliest. Ascend has announced a $15/lb. price increase for prime PA 66, so I am sure that we will see Invista follow suit and increase their PA 66 prices as well.

I think that you will see the price of wide-specification PA 66 pellets increase as much as the price of prime pellets. Both of the domestic PA 66 producers are using more of their own scrap back into internal added valued compounding programs, which is removing large volumes of both good wide- specification pellets and baled fibers out of the secondary market. This will tighten the supply of wide- specification pellets in the USA domestic market, which will narrow the gap between the price of prime Nylon 66 and wide specification Nylon 66 pellets this year. Expect to see the price of Nylon 66 to remain firm (or higher) in the first half of 2011.

The Acrylic (PMMA) market continues to be strong in early 2011 as well. Like everything else, the price of PMMA scrap continues to increase. The latest price increase is currently being driven by the strong demand for Acetone in the Polypropylene (PP) market. As long as PP continues to sell at historic highs, expect the price of any Acetone based product to increase as well. Since you need acetone to make MMA, the backbone of Acrylic, I am sure there will be price increases announced for prime PMMA in the near future. Dualloy is currently paying over $.53/lb. in the domestic market for mixed color PMMA scrap for monomer extraction. This is the highest price that I have paid for PMMA scrap for monomer recovery since entering into the export business in 1995.

Announced Nylon 6 Price Increases:
Honeywell Jan 1st $.10/lb.
Feb 1st $.15/lb.
Marc 1st $.08/lb.
BASF Feb 1st $.08/lb.
Shaw Feb 1st $.08/lb.

Nylon 66 Price Increase:
Ascend Feb 1st $.15/lb.

Dualloy sells the following types of Nylon 6 Polymer waste.
Nylon 6 Kettle Bottoms
Nylon 6 Depoly Residue
Nylon 6 Solidified Oligomer Waste
Nylon 6 Washwater
Nylon 6 Washwater/Oligomer Waste
Call for MOQ and current material prices.

Dualloy purchases/sells plastic resin and polymers in the following forms.
Aged/Obsolete Virgin Pellets
Wide-Specification Pellets
Clean uniform Plastic Regrinds
Reactor Lumps/Chunks/Patties
Nylon Fiber Bales

Dualloy has the following Nylon materials available for sale:
Nylon 66 Semi Dull Wide Spec Pellets
Nylon 66 Dull Second Quality Pellets
Nylon 66 Textile Bright Pellets
Nylon 66 Pellets w/ up to 0.02% TiO2
Nylon 66 Mixed Color Regrind
Nylon 66 Bright Regrinds
Nylon 66 Semi Dull / Mixed Luster Regrind

Prime Nylon 6 Pellets 2.7 RV - Natural
Packaged in 1,500# boxes

Please feel free to contact me at: JamesGubera@dualloy.com

Nylon 66 Prices seem to have peaked, while Nylon 6 prices are softening in July 2010.

Nylon 66 (PA 66) wide-specification and PA-66 scrap prices seem to have reached their peak in late June 2010. Invista is no longer operating under force majeure, and the market is starting to slow down again in Asia. Finished goods orders in S. China were off in the 14-15% range in the month of June, and we have seen our PA66 and PA6 business starting to slow down as well. Business in Asia has been affected by the current uncertainty in the world financial markets, and the softening Euro. Prices for Nylon 66 are at a historic high, and will probably start to level out in July with little change through the end of 2010.

On the other hand the price of Nylon 6 is continuing to soften in China mainly due to the softening price of Benzene. Demand for Nylon 6 is showing signs of softening as well, so I think the price of PA-6 may soften a little more before stabilizing in the world market. As we reach the middle of 2010 it is probably time to start watching how much material China continues to purchase through the end of the year. Liquid chemical inventories (feedstocks) are reaching their storage capacity in China, and will need to be lowered in the near future to make room for additional product. 2010 may end up being a repeat of 2009, where the Chinese slow their buying volume of all materials in the second half of the year in order to work down their raw materials inventory.

Dualloy recycles clean Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB), and purchases clean post industrial clear and color trim scrap from decorative windows / glass lamination companies. Dualloy recycles PVB trim scrap, obsolete / blocked rolls, aged roll inventory, purge patties, fluff/flake. We are not interested in purchasing PVB scrap that has been recovered from automotive windshields. Dualloy purchases baled PVB waste, regrinds, and rolls. Please contact James Gubera if you have any clean PVB waste for sale.

The Acrylic (PMMA) market is very difficult for us to deal in at this time. The sale price in South China for low end monomer extraction scrap is around USD$1100-$1120/MT CFR HK, and we definitely cannot make this price work in today’s market. All of the major USA PMMA producers have their scrap priced over the $.50/lb., so buying PMMA scrap and exporting it to China is very difficult to say the least. We have been buying material to maintain our relationship with the producers, and to keep the material supply door open for when the acrylic scrap market turns around.

Dualloy sells the following types of Nylon 6 Polymer waste.
Nylon 6 Kettle Bottoms
Nylon 6 Depoly Residue
Nylon 6 Solidified Oligomer Waste
Nylon 6 Washwater
Nylon 6 Washwater/Oligomer Waste
Call for MOQ and current material prices.

Dualloy purchases/sells plastic resin and polymers in the following forms.
Aged/Obsolete Virgin Pellets
Wide-Specification Pellets
Clean uniform Plastic Regrinds
Reactor Lumps/Chunks/Patties
Nylon Fiber Bales

Dualloy sells the following types Nylon 66 pellets / regrinds:
Nylon 66 Semi Dull Wide Spec Pellets
Nylon 66 Dull Second Quality Pellets
Nylon 66 Textile Bright Pellets
Nylon 66 Pellets w/ up to 0.02% TiO2
Nylon 66 Mixed Color Regrind
Nylon 66 Bright / Semi Dull / Dull Baled Fibers

Prime Nylon 6 Pellets 2.7 RV - Natural
Packaged in 1,500# boxes

Please feel free to contact me at: JamesGubera@dualloy.com

Polyvinyl Butryal (PVB) post industrial plastic scrap wanted for recycling.

Dualloy EPL is looking to increase our supply of Polyvinyl Butryal (PVB) post industrial plastic scrap. We purchase PVB scrap in all forms and colors, and would like to talk to your company about purchasing the post industrial scrap that you generate. We want to purchase obsolete / aged rolls of PVB film, and the trim scrap that is generated from the glass lamination process. We are always looking to increase our supply of clean post industrial trim PVB scrap, so give us a call or send us an email, and let Dualloy give you a price quotation for the PVB scrap and waste that your company generates.

We are not interested in purchasing Polyvinyl Butryal (PVB) from old windshields or commercial replacement glass applications.

Dualloy purchases Polyvinyl Butryal (PVB) post industrial plastic scrap.
PVB Aged / Obsolete Rolls
PVB Blocked Rolls from sheet lamination
PVB trims scrap clear or colors
PVB Color rolls and trim scrap
PVB Clear rolls and trim scrap

Dualloy wants to purchase PVB scrap manufactured by the following companies.
DuPont – Butacite
Solutia – Saflex
Kuraray – Mowital
Sekisui Chemical Co. – S-Lec
Dualloy does not sell prime PVB Film , or represent the above listed companies.

Dualloy sells the following types of Nylon 6 Polymer waste.
Nylon 6 Kettle Bottoms
Nylon 6 Depoly Residue
Nylon 6 Solidified Oligomer Waste
Nylon 6 Washwater
Nylon 6 Washwater/Oligomer Waste
Call for MOQ and current material prices.

Dualloy purchases/sells plastic resin and polymers in the following forms.
Aged/Obsolete Virgin Pellets
Wide-Specification Pellets
Clean uniform Plastic Regrinds
Reactor Lumps/Chunks/Patties
Nylon Fiber Bales

Dualloy has the following Nylon materials available for sale:Nylon 66 Semi Dull Wide Spec Pellets
Nylon 66 Dull Second Quality Pellets
Nylon 66 Textile Bright Pellets
Nylon 66 Pellets w/ up to 0.02% TiO2
Nylon 66 Mixed Color Regrind
Nylon 66 Bright / Semi Dull / Dull Baled Fibers

Prime Nylon 6 Pellets 2.7 RV - Natural
Packaged in 1,500# boxes

Dualloy sells the following types of Acrylic (PMMA) scrap.Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White (segregated) lumps / chunks for crackback
Acrylic PMMA - Q1 / Q2 Clear / White / Green Extruded Sheet
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White extruded sheet trim scrap

Please feel free to contact me at: JamesGubera@dualloy.com

Wide Specification Nylon 66 (PA66) prices continue to rise in June 2010

Nylon 66 (PA 66) wide-specification and scrap prices are going up again in June. We have seen our buying price for PA 66 off spec pellets increase by about $.03 - $.04/lb. for material shipped in June. Looking back over the past year, I think we have seen PA66 prices go up every month for the past 12 months. Currently both USA domestic Nylon 66 producers are under force majeure due to the Butadiene shortage in North America. The Butadiene shortage has Nylon 66 supply tight in NA with no end in sight. Based on the current market conditions, I think we will see PA 66 supply stay tight through the end of 2010. Prices may not continue to increase monthly, but material will be tight through the end of the year.

Nylon 6 (PA 6) prices are on the way down in China at this time. The PA6 price decrease is being driven by the current softening price of Benzene. Prime Caprolactam prices are down, which is carrying over into the prime PA6 pellet market. We have seen PA 6 prime pellet prices in China fall about $.12 - $.15/lb. over the past 2 weeks due to the falling Benzene prices. Some prime PA6 pellets are currently selling at a price level below the price of prime Caprolactam, which makes no sense at all. Capro demand is weak in China at this time, because most of the nylon producers feel prices will continue to soften as Benzene prices head south.

The Acrylic (PMMA) market is very difficult for us to deal in at this time. The sale price in South China for low end monomer extraction scrap is around USD$1100-$1120/MT CFR HK, and we definitely cannot make this price work in today’s market. All of the major USA PMMA producers have their scrap priced over the $.50/lb., so buying PMMA scrap and exporting it to China is very difficult to say the least. We have been buying material to maintain our relationship with the producers, and to keep the material supply door open for when the acrylic scrap market turns around.

Dualloy sells the following types of Nylon 6 polymers waste.Nylon 6 Kettle Bottoms
Nylon 6 Depoly Residue
Nylon 6 Solidified Oligomer Waste
Nylon 6 Washwater
Nylon 6 Washwater/Oligomer Waste
Call for MOQ and current material prices.

Dualloy purchases/sells plastic resin and polymers in the following forms.
Aged/Obsolete Virgin Pellets
Wide-Specification Pellets
Clean uniform Plastic Regrinds
Reactor Lumps/Chunks/Patties
Nylon Fiber Bales

Dualloy has the following Nylon materials available for sale:Nylon 66 Semi Dull Wide Spec Pellets
Nylon 66 Dull Second Quality Pellets
Nylon 66 Textile Bright Pellets
Nylon 66 Pellets w/ up to 0.02% TiO2
Nylon 66 Mixed Color Regrind
Nylon 66 Bright / Semi Dull / Dull Baled Fibers

Prime Nylon 6 Pellets 2.7 RV - Natural
Packaged in 1,500# boxes

Dualloy sells the following types of Acrylic (PMMA) scrap.
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White (segregated) lumps / chunks for crackback
Acrylic PMMA - Q1 / Q2 Clear / White / Green Extruded Sheet
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White extruded sheet trim scrap

Please feel free to contact me at: JamesGubera@dualloy.com

Chinaplas 2010 – China is back and rolling ahead at full speed!

I have just gotten back from traveling in China for the past 7 days, and took the time to go to Chinaplas 2010 on Tuesday, 4/20, while passing through Shanghai. All I can say is “What a show” to say the least. The show seemed very busy to me, and the news reported a 17% increase in attendance over last year. Every “Big Name” in plastics from around the world had a booth at the show, from polymer manufacturers, color / additive companies, equipment manufactures, and anything else that has to do with handling or processing plastics was represented at the show. They may not show at the NPE anymore, but they all took the time to be at Chinaplas 2010. The overall economy in China is good, with both domestic sales and export sales on the rise. Most of the manufacturers are concerned, because wages are increasing everywhere, as their market continues to develop and mature. But I am sure, that once the domestic manufacturers realize the increase in higher margin domestic sales offsets any decrease in export sales they experience, China will accept the higher wages they are paying.

The Chinese have new wealth in cash, and enjoy spending their money. Japan is currently the # 1 buyer of luxury goods in the world, and it won’t be long before the Chinese secures the position as the # 1 buyer’s of luxury goods in the world. If you want to sell something to the Chinese I would suggest selling them expensive luxury goods. Cars, watches, purses, you name it, if it is high end, flashy, and “Cool in the West” the Chinese want to own at least one. The down side to all of this is that, it is not cheap (inexpensive) any more to travel and eat in China’s big cities. All prices are up in China at this time, so expect to pay more for hotels and dining out if you are traveling in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou. You can still find some great deals in China, but they tend to be farther in land, and outside of the large developing urban areas. Staying at a nice hotel in one of the large cities costs about the same a staying in a hotel and eating out in Houston.

Nylon 6 and Nylon 66 prices were up again in April due to continued demand and tight supply of material around the world. Our moldering and compounding customers in China are busy trying to fill their backlog of orders from 2009. The increase in export business, coupled with the increase in domestic business most companies are enjoying, is leading to strong demand and tight supply of Nylon 66 resins and fiber scrap. Dualloy is currently in a sold out position on all of the Nylon 66 and Nylon 6 second quality pellets, regrinds, and fiber bales that we purchase. Our demand in China for material is great, and we just cannot get enough material to keep all of our good customers happy.

The Acrylic (PMMA) market is very difficult for us to deal in at this time. The sale price in South China for low end monomer extraction scrap is around USD$1100-$1120/MT CFR HK, and we definitely cannot make this price work in today’s market. All of the major USA PMMA producers have their scrap priced over the $.50/lb., so buying PMMA scrap and exporting it to China is very difficult to say the least. We have been buying material to maintain our relationship with the producers, and to keep the material supply door open for when the acrylic scrap market turns around.

Dualloy sells the following types of plastic resins and polymers.
Nylon 66 – PA 66 Wide Specification Pellets, Baled Fibers, Regrinds
Nylon 6 – PA6 Prime Pellets, wide specification pellets, plant scrap
ABS, SAN, GPPS Wide Specification Pellets, GPPS / SAN Devol Pellets
SBS, SEBS, SIBS Second Quality Pellets, Aged/Obsolete Inventory
TPU, TPR, TPE

Dualloy purchases/sells plastic resin and polymers in the following forms.
Aged/Obsolete Virgin Pellets
Wide-Specification Pellets
Clean uniform Plastic Regrinds
Reactor Lumps/Chunks/Patties
Nylon Fiber Bales

Dualloy has the following Nylon materials available for sale:
Nylon 66 Semi Dull Wide Spec Pellets
Nylon 66 Dull Second Quality Pellets
Nylon 66 Textile Bright Pellets
Nylon 66 Pellets w/ up to 0.02% TiO2
Nylon 66 Mixed Color Regrind
Nylon 66 Bright / Semi Dull / Dull Baled Fibers
Prime Nylon 6 Pellets 2.7 RV - Natural
Packaged in 1,500# boxes

Nylon 6 Wide Spec Chips – High Residual Monomer
Mixed Grades / Mixed RV’s 2.4 – 5.0
May have up to 10% residual monomer
Will contain pellets with TiO2
May have blue/green HS pellets present

Nylon 6 Un-pelletized Chopped Strands – High Residual Monomer
Mixed Grades / Mixed RV’s 2.4 – 5.0
May have up to 10%-12% residual monomer
Will contain pellets with TiO2

Dualloy sells the following types of Acrylic (PMMA) scrap.
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White (segregated) lumps / chunks for crackback
Acrylic PMMA - Q1 / Q2 Clear / White / Green Extruded Sheet
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White extruded sheet trim scrap


Please feel free to contact me at: JamesGubera@dualloy.com

Prime Nylon 6 Prices are up $.35 - $.37/lb. in the first 4 months of 2010!

The price of prime nylon 6 fiber and engineering base resins is going up another $.09//lb. on April 1, 2010. BASF has announced a $.09/lb. price increase effective April 1st, and we expect the other North American nylon 6 manufactures to follow with their own material price increases. The April 1 increase should move the price of fiber grade chips closer to where the suppliers want to see prime nylon 6 prices, based on their current cost of benzene and capro feedstocks.

Dualloy has seen the price of prime PA 6 fiber pellets and engineering resins increase between $.35- $.37/lb. since the beginning of 2010. Depending on where you buy your prime material, either from BASF or Honeywell, you have probably seen some of the following prime PA6 price increases listed below for 2010.

BASF 12/1/2009 - $.10/lb., 2/1/2010 - $.12/lb., 3/1/2010 - $.06/lb., 4/1/2010 - $.09/lb.
Honeywell 1/1/2010 - $.10/lb., 2/1/2010 - $.14/lb., 3/1/2010 - $.06/lb., 4/1/2010 - $.10/lb.

LyondellBasell is pleased to announce that effective on April 1, 2010, they are lifting the January 22, 2010 force majeure declaration for its polypropylene copolymer and random copolymer products. They have fully recovered from the outages they were having at the plant in Lake Charles, and expect to be able to meet all of their customers production and delivery needs.

Dualloy sells the following types of plastic resins and polymers.
Nylon 66 – PA 66 Wide Specification Pellets, Baled Fibers, Regrinds
Nylon 6 – PA6 Prime Pellets, wide specification pellets, plant scrap
ABS, SAN, GPPS Wide Specification Pellets, GPPS / SAN Devol Pellets
SBS, SEBS, SIBS Second Quality Pellets, Aged/Obsolete Inventory
TPU, TPR, TPE

Dualloy purchases/sells plastic resin and polymers in the following forms.
Aged/Obsolete Virgin Pellets
Wide-Specification Pellets
Clean uniform Plastic Regrinds
Reactor Lumps/Chunks/Patties
Nylon Fiber Bales

Dualloy has the following Nylon materials available for sale:
Nylon 66 Semi Dull Wide Spec Pellets
Nylon 66 Dull Second Quality Pellets
Nylon 66 Textile Bright Pellets
Nylon 66 Pellets w/ up to 0.02% TiO2
Nylon 66 Mixed Color Regrind
Nylon 66 Bright / Semi Dull / Dull Baled Fibers
Prime Nylon 6 Pellets 2.7 RV - Natural
Packaged in 1,500# boxes

Nylon 6 Wide Spec Chips – High Residual Monomer
Mixed Grades / Mixed RV’s 2.4 – 5.0
May have up to 10% residual monomer
Will contain pellets with TiO2
May have blue/green HS pellets present

Nylon 6 Un-pelletized Chopped Strands – High Residual Monomer
Mixed Grades / Mixed RV’s 2.4 – 5.0
May have up to 10%-12% residual monomer
Will contain pellets with TiO2

Dualloy sells the following types of Acrylic (PMMA) scrap.
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White (segregated) lumps / chunks for crackback
Acrylic PMMA - Q1 / Q2 Clear / White / Green Extruded Sheet
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White extruded sheet trim scrap


Please feel free to contact me at: JamesGubera@dualloy.com

Prime Nylon 6 Price increases have been announced for March 1, 2010

Most of the factories are just starting to return back to work after being off for the Chinese New Year, which was on Feb. 14th this year. This is the year 4078 of the Lunar Calendar, and is represented by the Chinese Zodiac symbol of The Golden Tiger. The Tiger is a sign of courage, and represents a fearless and fiery fighter. This is a good year for facing and overcoming obstacles and setbacks in life, so look forward to really excelling in the coming year both personally and professionally.

Dualloy expects to see business pick up next week as more factories in China return to work, and gear up for full production. The Chinese plastic market made corrections in 2009 for a slowing world economy just like the rest of the global market. The markets that were most drastically affected were for items that are manufactured for export to USA and Europe. While most plastic materials being sold for items that are sold into the domestic China market have performed well due to their growing middle class economy. I expect to see China’s materials purchasing remain strong through the first 7-8 months of 2010, and then start to slow in the 3rd QTR 2010 similar to what we saw in 2009.

Both Honeywell and BASF have announced a Nylon 6 price increase of $0.06/lb. for March 1, 2010 on all their prime injection molding, fiber extrusion and compounding grades of resin. The monthly Nylon 6 price increases in 2010 are based on the continued rise in the cost of polymer feedstock’s, and increased tightness in the caprolactam market. Nylon 6 prices should continue to be strong through the first half of 2010, even as new polymer capacity comes on line in China due to the tight capro market. But I feel that the price of prime Nylon 6 could start to see some relief as new caprolactam capacity comes on line in China in QTR 3, 2010.

Dualloy sells the following types of plastic resins and polymers.
Nylon 66 – PA 66 Wide Specification Pellets, Baled Fibers, Regrinds
Nylon 6 – PA6 Prime Pellets, wide specification pellets, plant scrap
ABS, SAN, GPPS Wide Specification Pellets, GPPS / SAN Devol Pellets
SBS, SEBS, SIBS Second Quality Pellets, Aged/Obsolete Inventory
TPU, TPR, TPE

Dualloy purchases/sells plastic resin and polymers in the following forms.
Aged/Obsolete Virgin Pellets
Wide-Specification Pellets
Clean uniform Plastic Regrinds
Reactor Lumps/Chunks/Patties
Nylon Fiber Bales

Dualloy has the following Nylon materials available for sale:
Nylon 66 Semi Dull Wide Spec Pellets
Nylon 66 Dull Second Quality Pellets
Nylon 66 Textile Bright Pellets
Nylon 66 Pellets w/ up to 0.02% TiO2
Nylon 66 Mixed Color Regrind
Nylon 66 Bright / Semi Dull / Dull Baled Fibers
Prime Nylon 6 Pellets 2.7 RV - Natural
Packaged in 1,500# boxes

Nylon 6 Wide Spec Chips – High Residual Monomer
Mixed Grades / Mixed RV’s 2.4 – 5.0
May have up to 10% residual monomer
Will contain pellets with TiO2
May have blue/green HS pellets present

Nylon 6 Un-pelletized Chopped Strands – High Residual Monomer
Mixed Grades / Mixed RV’s 2.4 – 5.0
May have up to 10%-12% residual monomer
Will contain pellets with TiO2

Dualloy sells the following types of Acrylic (PMMA) scrap.
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White (segregated) lumps / chunks for crackback
Acrylic PMMA - Q1 / Q2 Clear / White / Green Extruded Sheet
Acrylic PMMA - Clear / White extruded sheet trim scrap

Prime ABS Natural Pellets
3.5 Melt / 4 Izod - Low Gloss

ABS Natural Wide Specification Pellets
4 Melt / 7 Izod - High Gloss

ABS Black Pellets
5 Melt / 4 Izod

Prime SAN Pellets
8 Melt Crystone

SAN Devol Pellets
Blue Color

GPPS Devol Pellets
Mixed Color for Black

Please feel free to contact me at: JamesGubera@dualloy.com