Global Chemical Price Hike in September: A Summary of Price Adjustments

Starting in September 2026, the global chemical industry is experiencing a new wave of widespread price increases across multiple categories. Leading domestic and international chemical and advanced materials companies have issued price adjustment announcements. Prices for resins, coatings, nylon, plastic substrates, various chemical solvents, and basic raw materials have been raised across the board, with per-ton increases ranging from dozens to thousands of RMB. Price hikes for certain electronic substrate categories have exceeded 20%. September 1st has emerged as the core execution date for this round of adjustments.
Domestic and International Industry Leaders Issue Price Adjustment Notices
Details of Domestic Price Adjustments:
Allnex Resins (Suzhou): Effective September 1, 2026, prices for indoor resins, standard weather-resistant resins, and ultra-weather-resistant resins will be uniformly increased by RMB 500/ton, covering the entire range of general and high-end weather-resistant resin products.
Hengshui Xinguang New Materials: The price adjustment takes effect immediately (August 25), implementing tiered price hikes for architectural coatings and waterproofing product lines. The company stated that due to fluctuations in the international geopolitical environment, industry capacity adjustments, and cascading effects across the supply chain, upstream raw material prices have remained highly volatile at high levels. With production costs rising significantly, previous prices can no longer cover operating costs, making this adjustment a necessary routine business measure.
Nan Ya Plastics: Effective September 1, 2026, prices for Copper Clad Laminates (CCL) and Prepregs (PP) will see substantial increases of 20% to 25%. The adjustment is attributed to significant price hikes in upstream raw materials such as copper foil, fiberglass cloth, and core resins.
Wanhua Chemical: The company has raised ex-factory prices for multiple basic chemical products across various regions nationwide. In the Shandong market, butadiene rose by RMB 180/ton, MTBE by RMB 50/ton, and TBA by RMB 100/ton; styrene increased by RMB 200/ton in North and East China; n-butanol rose by RMB 100/ton across multiple regions nationwide; acrylic acid increased by RMB 200/ton in Northeast, North, and East China, while butyl acrylate surged by RMB 400/ton; LDPE plastic pellets saw increases of RMB 50 to 100/ton across various specifications in Shandong, East, and South China.
Price Adjustments by Global Chemical Giants:
BASF: Effective September 1, 2026, multi-regional price adjustments include: In North America, caprolactam, nylon 6, and nylon 6/66 copolymers increased by $0.08/lb (equivalent to approx. RMB 1,197/ton); in Europe, NPG increased by €250/ton, and in North America, NPG rose by $221/ton, translating to RMB 1,500–1,700/ton. Price hikes for overseas categories are significantly higher than those in the domestic market.
Sherwin-Williams: Effective September 1, 2026, all product lines at Sherwin-Williams Paint Stores will increase by 8%, as the global coatings leader officially joins this round of price hikes.
Domestic Basic Chemical Raw Materials See Broad-Based Rallies with Regional Divergence
Beyond official corporate price adjustment letters, spot market prices for domestic basic chemical raw materials have risen synchronously. Solvents, alcohols, benzenes, ketones, and plastic raw materials have all followed suit:
Cyclohexanone: Prices in mainstream national markets are trending upward. In Shandong, quotes reached RMB 9,300–9,400/ton, up RMB 250/ton in a single day; East China rose by RMB 25/ton; Guangdong quoted RMB 9,400–9,450/ton, up RMB 75/ton. The rally is driven by higher spot prices for upstream pure benzene, prompting refineries to lead downstream price hikes.
Industrial Grade Dimethyl Carbonate (DMC): Shandong rose by RMB 100/ton, East China by RMB 50/ton, and South China by RMB 150/ton. With no new spot inventory entering the market, supply is tight relative to demand. Manufacturers are strongly committed to maintaining prices, downstream demand remains rigid, and foreign trade order deliveries are stable.
Isopropanol (IPA): Prices in Jiangsu and Ningbo rose by RMB 100/ton, while Dongguan increased by RMB 200/ton. Strong upstream acetone prices provide solid cost support. Several enterprises raised prices collectively, pushing up trader offers, while downstream buyers are passively making necessary procurements.
Methanol: Nationwide price increases show significant regional variations. Shaanxi and Shanxi rose by RMB 110/ton, Inner Mongolia by RMB 88/ton, and Sichuan/Chongqing by RMB 80/ton; Shandong, Guangdong, Northeast China, Henan, Anhui, and Taicang saw increases of RMB 20–70/ton. With supply falling short of demand, coastal supply contraction, and improving export prospects, the price center continues to shift upward.
High-Boiling Aromatic Solvents: In Jiangsu, SA-1000# rose by RMB 150/ton and SA-1500# by RMB 25/ton; in Shandong, SA-1000# increased by RMB 85/ton and SA-1500# by RMB 75/ton. Influenced by retreating crude oil prices, market wait-and-see sentiment has intensified, with manufacturers adopting a cautious approach of minor follow-up increases.
Xylene: In Jiangsu, isomer-grade xylene rose by RMB 120/ton and solvent-grade xylene by RMB 125/ton; in Guangdong, isomer-grade xylene increased by RMB 150/ton; Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Shandong saw hikes of RMB 50–95/ton. Rising oil prices have fueled bullish sentiment, but weak terminal transactions have resulted in a "higher prices, lower volumes" scenario.
Sec-Butyl Acetate: Prices in East China, North China, and Shandong uniformly increased by RMB 50/ton, while South China rose by RMB 25/ton. Upstream raw material price hikes combined with low operating rates have limited supply; however, downstream procurement willingness remains tepid, and transaction volumes have not expanded.
Key Characteristics and Current Market Status of This Price Hike
This September 2026 chemical raw material price hike is characterized by comprehensive coverage, synchronized domestic and international movements, varying magnitudes, and cost-driven dynamics. It represents a widespread pricing adjustment driven by resonance between domestic and international chemical markets, covering core products across the entire industrial chain, including resins, coatings, electronic substrates, plastics, solvents, alcohols, and benzenes.
Regarding the magnitude of price hikes, conventional raw materials, solvents, and plastic additives have seen moderate increases, with per-ton hikes concentrated between RMB 20 and 400. Overseas high-end raw materials have experienced prominent hikes, with some BASF products rising up to RMB 1,700/ton. The electronic substrate sector is leading the industry, with Nan Ya Plastics' CCL and PP up 20%–25%, while the coatings sector sees Sherwin-Williams implementing an 8% proportional increase.
Multiple factors are jointly driving this market trend: Macroscopically, geopolitical turbulence has triggered cascading effects across the supply chain. On the cost side, upstream basic raw materials like crude oil and pure benzene remain at high levels, while energy, logistics, and packaging costs continue to rise. Industrially, operating rates in many regions are low, spot inventories are scarce, and supply falls short of demand for most categories. Unable to absorb cost pressures internally, enterprises are forced to implement price adjustments.
In terms of terminal market performance, the industry is experiencing a phenomenon of "easy price hikes, difficult volume expansion." While upstream quotes are rising and bullish sentiment is strong, downstream terminal enterprises are only making passive, rigid procurements. Procurement willingness remains weak, leading to a "higher prices, lower volumes" situation for most categories. Market wait-and-see sentiment is heating up, and subsequent market trends are expected to remain cautious.