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This rally is not purely cost-push. The data center liquid cooling narrative—especially Nvidia's shift to full liquid cooling using PG-based coolants—is adding a demand premium. Producers like Shida Shenghua and Haike Xinyuan are reportedly running at full capacity with minimal inventory, suggesting tightness may persist through 2026.
For buyers, route matters less than who owns the upstream. Integrated producers with captive PO or EO—like Weiyuan's propane-to-PO chain—can weather feedstock spikes better than merchant PG makers. When PO prices jump, non-integrated transesterification plants either pass through costs or cut runs, tightening supply further.
The byproduct dependency cuts both ways. When PO-based DMC units idle due to poor DMC margins, PG supply falls even if PG demand is healthy. That structural mismatch explains why China swings between oversupply and acute tightness—and why the 2026 rally has been so violent.
PDO and 1,2-PG should not be conflated in procurement. PDO's growth is tied to PTT fiber—carpets, textiles, automotive—while 1,2-PG follows unsaturated polyester resin, food/pharma, and now liquid cooling. The price trajectories are diverging: PDO is heading down on import substitution, while 1,2-PG is spiking on supply tightness.