Domestic Polyester Filament Capacity Nears 3 Million Tons in 2025

In 2025, the domestic polyester filament industry has returned to an annual scale of newly commissioned capacity of around 3 million tons. Leading companies account for the vast majority of this capacity growth, with differentiated fibers making up nearly 70% of the new additions.

According to data from Longzhong Information, as of now, nine new polyester filament production facilities have been commissioned domestically in 2025, with one more facility planned for the remainder of the year, bringing the total number of new facilities to ten. The combined capacity of these newly commissioned facilities has already reached 2.39 million tons per year. If the upcoming 300,000 tons/year Hengyou polyester filament facility is included, the total newly commissioned capacity will reach 2.69 million tons per year. Both the scale of new capacity and the number of new facilities are roughly comparable to the levels seen between 2018 and 2022, slightly lower than the peak year of 2023 which saw a large wave of new facility commissions, but significantly higher than 2024, which experienced a noticeable decline in new additions following the 2023 surge.

New Perspectives Viewpoint: The large-scale, high-end expansion of virgin polyester capacity in 2025, leveraging significant cost and scale advantages, will continue to squeeze the already low-margin recycled polyester market, subjecting it to more intense price competition and market share pressure. However, in the long term, environmental trends and demand for differentiation still provide growth space for recycled polyester. Recycled polyester enterprises need to focus on technological upgrades, cost control, and brand collaboration to navigate the challenges posed by the expansion of virgin polyester capacity.