2025 Spring Festival holiday schedule of recycled chemical fiber plants

In 2023, although the recycled PSF plants announced they would shut down early for Spring Festival holiday, the actual holiday time was relatively normal, with many plants closing at the end of the year. February 9th was the New Year's Eve, and most recycling plants took their holidays from late January to early February, with a few closing as late as February 5th to 8th, while some closed as early as the end of December.

In 2024, recycling PSF plants are expected to shut down early and restart late. Some plants in Zhejiang and Guangdong anticipated an early holiday as early as November. Now, with the accumulation of inventory, more plants are expecting to close early. Some plants in Zhejiang and Guangdong plan to take their holidays at the beginning of January, with a few planning to resume operations around February 17.

We make a quick survey about holiday schedule of recycled plants (capacity over 3.0 million tons).

Some recycling PSF plants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will close in December, while some close virgin PSF plants have confirmed they will exit the market. Plants in Hebei and Shandong will continue the traditional practice of closing later, mostly around January 20th or even later. Some plants in Wujiang and Jiangyin will start their holidays from early January to mid to late January. In contrast, some HC re-PSF plants in Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong plan to close early in early January, while the majority will close between mid-January to late January. The specific holiday schedule will depend on market demand orders, steam supply, and delivery conditions, with the reopening time after the holiday similarly influenced. However, due to weak market conditions and higher inventory levels in some plants, it is expected that the restart will be late.

1. In 2024, the high-end market performance is below expectations, with some new differentiated high-end lines starting up insufficiently and production not meeting forecasts. The conventional recycled PSF is significantly suppressed by virgin PSF, and the overall performance of colored re-PSF is better than that of white. Under the impact of low-priced virgin PSF, market share for recycled products is being seized, leading to obstacles in sales and pressure on prices, reducing operating enthusiasm of recycled plants, resulting in some plants exiting the market. The future is facing a reshuffling pattern.

2. The prices of HC virgin PSF are close or even lower than that of HC re-PSF. Some new capacity expansion of HC re-PSF is delayed. In general, HC re-PSF plants has a longer holiday break compared to solid re-PSF plants, and plants in South China have an earlier holiday than those in the North.

3. Market competition is fierce, and plants urgently need to reduce costs and increase efficiency, with a few undergoing technical upgrades and equipment modifications. Competing on production volume and product quality has become the development goal for factories.

4. After the Spring Festival holiday, most plants do not have specific restart date, as factors like virgin PSF and order demand remain uncertain. Since there is still more than a month until the holiday, the actual shutdown time for plants may be adjusted. The above represents the preliminary plans of the plants, but due to insufficient orders, some plants may start their holidays early.

5. The feedstock inventory in recycled PSF plants is lower than previous years. Some cleaning plants shut down earlier this year. Re-PET feedstock supply may remain tight after returning from the holiday. Pay attention to the virgin polyester markets and macro economy.