text: 13 July 2010 23:59 [Source: ICIS news]
  LONDON (ICIS news)--European Nylon 6,6 third quarter virgin polymer contracts settled at an increase of €0.10/kg ($0.13/kg) from the second quarter due to ongoing supply constraints, sources said on Tuesday.
  Some said that they settled third quarter contracts at rises of up to €0.30/kg, nevertheless all settled prices were in the above range.
  The nylon 6,6 market remained in tight supply due to structural shortages. The majority of producers were now sold-out until September, they said, and several sources were expecting availability to remain low until at least the end of the year.
  “Availability is a catastrophy,” a nylon 6,6 compounder said.
  The nylon 6,6 market has been structurally short since the fourth quarter of 2009, following market consolidation during the global economic crisis. Demand was reportedly strong, with orders at 20% above production volumes, sources estimated.
  “We could sell at least 20% above our available capacity if we could produce it,” one supplier said.
  The bulk of demand was coming from engineering plastics, and several sources said that they expected holiday shutdowns to be minimal this year because of demand appetite.
  One buyer said it had received confirmation from several large end-user automotive firms that they would minimise August shutdowns to the lowest possible levels in order to meet customer orders.
  Nylon 6,6 third quarter virgin polymer contract prices were assessed at €2.60-2.75/kg FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest ?xml:namespace>
  ($1 = €0.79)
  For more on nylon