The domestic styrene market in 2025 is undergoing in-depth adjustments in supply and demand relations, with overcapacity pressures contrasting sharply with downstream demand differentiation. Meanwhile, the import-export trade pattern shows a structural change of "import contraction and export growth". The latest data shows that as of early November, the domestic styrene capacity utilization rate was only 66.94%¹, and non-integrated plants fell into deep losses with a profit of -400 yuan per ton¹. The industry is facing the dual challenges of capacity expansion and weak demand.

Supply-side pressures continue to accumulate. In September, domestic styrene output was 354,000 tons, a month-on-month decrease of 5.98%², but the annual new capacity still reached 2.35 million tons. New 600,000-ton plants such as Jilin Petrochemical and Guangxi Petrochemical have been put into operation one after another, further exacerbating the oversupply in the market. In terms of inventory, although East China port inventory has continued to be destocked, the absolute volume of 193,000 tons is still at a high level in the same period in the past five years, and the risk of warehouse swelling has suppressed the room for market price rebound¹.

The demand side shows the characteristics of "external strength and internal weakness". From January to May, exports of downstream ABS and PS performed strongly, increasing by 71.55% and 55.52% year-on-year respectively, while imports decreased by 12.25% and 17.52% respectively³, reflecting the substitution of domestic materials for imports and the resilience of overseas demand. However, weak domestic demand has restricted overall consumption. The operating rates of the three major downstream sectors diverged significantly: ABS remained at a high level of 72.8%, PS only 53.8%, and EPS 62%¹. Finished product inventories are generally at a high level in the same period over the years, and the recovery of terminal demand for home appliances and automobiles fell short of expectations.

The international trade pattern has undergone profound adjustments. In 2024, import sources were highly concentrated, with Saudi Arabia ranking first with 1.948 million tons, accounting for 47.8% of total imports⁴; exports mainly flowed to South Korea, with annual exports reaching 1.62 million tons, accounting for 65.4% of total exports⁴. With the continuous release of domestic production capacity, the import dependency has dropped from 35% in 2020 to below 15% in 2025, and the industry is transforming from a net importer to a net exporter.

The current main market contradiction focuses on the resonance of cost collapse and overcapacity. The price of pure benzene has fallen to around 5,300 yuan/ton, a decrease of 28.5% from the beginning of the year. The failure of cost support coupled with the arrival of the off-season demand has caused the styrene price to continue to bottom out to the 6,300 yuan/ton range¹. In the short term, the industry needs to wait for the dual verification of the clearance of loss-making capacity and inventory destocking; in the medium and long term, it depends on the high-end transformation of downstream and overseas market expansion to break the current dilemma of "low profits and high inventory".

**Data Sources:**

¹ Ruida Futures, Styrene Industry Daily Report (251106)

² Hexun.com, "China Styrene Production Drops 22,500 Tons, Non-integrated Profit Increases 5 Yuan/Ton"

³ Petrochemical Information Network, "2025H1 Styrene Industry Chain Maintains Supply-Demand Growth" (20250626)

⁴ Import-Export Information Network, "29025000 Styrene Customs Data"