Nylon 6 Chips & Caprolactam

Polyamide 6 chips by relative viscosity, and caprolactam monomer for polymerisers

Nylon 6 chips (HS 3908.10) are polymerised from caprolactam (HS 2933.71), and the two trade to different buyers. Chips are graded on relative viscosity, measured in 96% sulphuric acid at 1 g/dl and 25 °C: low-viscosity grades around 2.4–2.85 go to textile spinning, medium grades around 2.85–3.35 to industrial yarn and engineering plastics, where chips near 3.25 are used, and high-viscosity grades around 3.8–4.0 to film and extrusion. Chips are also bright, semi-dull or full-dull by titanium dioxide content, and the buyer states moisture and extractables limits. Caprolactam is bought by the polymeriser against purity and colour specifications.

UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 3908.10 (polyamide 6, 11, 12, 6,6 and related) put China at 0.74 million MT (USD 1,657 million), the USA at 0.56 million MT (USD 1,959 million), Germany at 0.52 million MT (USD 1,779 million), Italy and Taiwan at 0.19 million MT each and Korea at 0.11 million MT. Under HS 2933.71, caprolactam exports were led by Belgium at 0.27 million MT (USD 484 million) and China at 0.20 million MT (USD 297 million), with the Netherlands at 0.05 million MT and Thailand at 0.03 million MT.

Trade remedies shape the routes. China has extended anti-dumping duties on polyamide 6 from Taiwan, the EU and the USA, and has imposed anti-dumping duties on caprolactam from the EU and the USA; India's trade-remedies authority has recommended duties in a caprolactam case covering the EU, Korea and Thailand. In the EU, Regulation (EU) 2026/1823 imposed definitive anti-dumping duties of about 60–67.6% on polyamide yarn from China, which affects yarn, not chips. The duty at destination is checked for each route before an origin is fixed.

CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers nylon 6 chips and caprolactam against the producer's certificate of analysis and SGS or Intertek inspection, chips in 25 kg bags, jumbo bags or octabins in containers, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, priced per grade against the ICIS and Platts nylon and caprolactam assessments. Send the product, relative viscosity or purity, lustre, end use and monthly volume, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

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Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.