【Introduction】：Due to the delayed restart of some previously shut units, benzene capacity utilization hit its lowest level since the pandemic in June. According to the current maintenance schedule, capacity utilization is expected to decline further in July.

In June, the maintenance loss volume was 354,800 tons, up 55,800 tons month-on-month, an increase of 18.66%, and up 210,000 tons year-on-year, an increase of 145.03%.

A total of 12 units underwent new maintenance during the month, with a combined capacity of 3.535 million tons. Among them, 2 units completed maintenance and restarted in June, 6 units are scheduled to restart in July, and 4 units will restart between August and September. A total of 24 previously shut units were delayed into this month, of which 2 units restarted within the month, 6 units are scheduled to restart in July, and 13 units are in long-term shutdown but have been idle for less than two years.

Due to factors such as insufficient feedstock supply and malfunctions during the maintenance period, the restart of several previously shut units was further postponed in June. As a result, the maintenance loss volume in June reached an all-time high. Entering July, as large units that shut down at the end of June will mainly reflect their loss volume in July, and some previously idled units are expected to remain offline in July, the maintenance loss volume is projected to hit another record high.

This month, crude benzene production is estimated at 1.655 million tons, down 75,000 tons from May, a decrease of 4.27%. Compared to June 2025, production fell by 167,000 tons, a decline of 9.06%. Calculated on a daily basis, the estimated daily production of benzene in June was 55,200 tons/day, lower than the 56,500 tons/day in May. The estimated capacity utilization rate in June was 65.15%, down 0.71% from May and down 12.43% year-on-year compared to June 2025. The decline in production and capacity utilization was mainly driven by planned maintenance and feedstock-related production cuts.

Entering July, due to the shutdown of large units including Shenghong Petrochemical and Wilmar Chemical at the end of June, it is expected that the benzene production utilization rate and output will continue to fall to a record low of around 59%. Thereafter, a rebound is expected from mid-July onward as the restart process of maintenance units progresses. However, due to the reduction in imports caused by previous Strait incidents, domestic benzene production is unlikely to recover to the level of the same period in 2025 before September, and the recovery pace may still slow due to feedstock constraints. Therefore, despite the current weak demand for benzene, the low domestic capacity utilization and output levels will still drive an overall wide destocking in the supply-demand balance for July.