Since August, the epichlorohydrin market has shown a trend of initial declines followed by oscillating adjustments. Although theoretical losses for the glycerin-based process have widened further, some producers, having built up relatively low-cost raw material inventories earlier, have not reduced their overall willingness to produce; instead, the industry’s operating rate has edged up. As of August 28, domestic epichlorohydrin monthly output reached 125,100 metric tons, an increase of 8,900 metric tons from July, up 7.66% month-on-month and 10.98% year-on-year. The industry’s average capacity utilization rate in August stood at 47.71%, up 3.4 percentage points from the previous month, but down 0.07 percentage points from the same period last year. Overall, supply increased within the month, though the industry’s overall operating level remained slightly lower than in the year-earlier period.
In August 2026, the two mainstream process routes in the domestic epichlorohydrin market showed clear divergence in operational performance. The propylene-based route saw no substantive plant shutdowns in August; only a few enterprises conducted minor phased adjustments during production, which had virtually no material impact on the overall supply pattern. Meanwhile, supported by volatile upward price movements in upstream raw materials—propylene and liquid chlorine—the propylene-based process maintained attractive profitability, keeping producers’ willingness to operate at a high level. According to Chempricehub data, the average capacity utilization rate for the propylene-based process rose to 99.66% in August, up 0.03 percentage points month-on-month, essentially at theoretical full-load operation. This underscores that, with its low-cost advantage and sound earnings structure, the propylene-based route has become increasingly competitive in the current market environment.
In contrast, the glycerin-based process continued to shoulder substantial loss-making pressure, with losses intensifying versus earlier periods. However, thanks to earlier stockpiling of low-cost raw materials, some enterprises were able to soften the cost-side squeeze to a certain extent, leading to a notable month-on-month rebound in capacity utilization for this process. In August, the average capacity utilization rate for the glycerin-based process was approximately 44.96%, up 3.07 percentage points from the previous month, yet still far below the industry’s reasonable operating range. Overall, the gap between the two process routes in terms of economic returns and operating levels widened further, reflecting the ongoing deepening of the structural landscape within the current epichlorohydrin market.
In August, epichlorohydrin plants with a combined annual processing capacity of 603,000 metric tons entered the maintenance cycle. According to Chempricehub data, as of August 28, total maintenance-related production losses at domestic epichlorohydrin plants reached 43,700 metric tons, down 12,100 metric tons month-on-month, a decline of 21.68%, and down 7,700 metric tons year-on-year, a decline of 14.9%.
Overall, the month-on-month decline in maintenance losses can be attributed mainly to the restart of some plants, as well as the availability of earlier low-cost raw materials for certain enterprises, which lifted capacity utilization and thereby reduced maintenance-related output losses.
Looking ahead to the domestic epichlorohydrin market in September, industry capacity utilization and output are expected to show a month-on-month growth trend. Driven by the “Golden September and Silver October” season, epichlorohydrin prices are more likely to decline first and then rise in September. However, with the main raw material glycerin remaining at high prices, cost pressure on the glycerin-based process is unlikely to ease, and losses may continue to expand. In addition, some producers are resistant to high-priced glycerin, which may dampen their willingness to produce. The propylene-based process, by contrast, is expected to sustain high-load operation owing to its strong profitability, with no shutdown plans for now. Although some previously idled glycerin-based plants are scheduled to restart or raise loads in September, after offsetting factors, the industry’s capacity utilization and output in September are expected to show a slight decrease compared with August. The industry’s average capacity utilization rate may remain around 47.9%, with output estimated at approximately 121,500 metric tons. Going forward, close attention should be paid to the operating pace of epichlorohydrin plants, their upstream and downstream chains, and the dynamic evolution of the industry’s supply-demand balance.
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