Report from The FAoE

Long-lasting shortage of raw material makes flock of polyamide 6.6 more expensive

The since the beginning of 2017, initially moderate, but then sharply rising prices for Polyamide 6.6 are affecting more and more the prices for Flock made of Polyamide 6.6.

Due to different factors (force majeure cases for primary materials and at the same time strongly growing economy with increasing demand) polyamide 6.6 caused supply bottlenecks and therefore enormous price increases:

Price Development Polyamide 6.6 (source of numbers „Kunststoff Information“)

Month

 Price € per Ton

January 2017

3.450, -

June 2017

3.865, -

January 2018

4.060, -

June 2018

4.190, -

December 2018

4.940, -

This drastic increase in the price of raw materials also forced the manufacturers of flock cable, which serves as a raw material for flock production, to increase their prices to flock manufacturers. As is usually the case in such cases, this increase in price, with some delay, affects the entire supply chain, including the finished flock and finally the flocked product.

Switching to alternatives is usually quite difficult. On the one hand due to the limited number of suppliers of flock cables, on the other hand due to complex and costly approval processes for alternative materials, e.g. in the automotive industry, but also in many other applications.

Latest reports about the declining economic development led to a clear relaxation in the vast majority of thermoplastics, with the exception of polyamide 6.6. For the time being, therefore, at best, prices might likely to stabilize at a high level.

Andreas Fröhler / board member Flock Association of Europe e.V.