Statistics Report on Pure Benzene Industrial Chain Capacity Utilization Rate (July 31 - August 06, 2026)

Petroleum-based benzene output reached 371,800 metric tons, up 14,600 metric tons (4.09%) from the previous cycle, with capacity utilization at 61.79%, up 2.48 percentage points from the prior cycle. The increase in output during the cycle came from plant load adjustments and the commissioning of new units. In this cycle, the newly built aromatics extraction units at Satellite Petrochemical and Zhongke Refining & Chemical were added to the capacity base, while Jincheng Petrochemical's cracking unit, Huifeng Petrochemical's reforming unit, and China Overseas Energy's reforming unit were no longer counted. Total capacity was revised to 28.626 million metric tons per year.

The domestic operating rate of benzene hydrogenation units stood at 65.98%, unchanged from last week. China's weekly hydrogenated benzene output this week was 87,500 metric tons, also flat versus the prior week. During the week, Inner Mongolia Rongxin's unit was restarted, while Shanxi Deyi was shut down.

Among the major downstream sectors this week, capacity utilization fell versus the prior period for styrene, caprolactam, and adipic acid, while it rose for phenol and aniline. Styrene: some styrene units in South China briefly cut operating loads due to temporary malfunctions, cost pressure, and feedstock issues. Caprolactam: Pingmei Shenma's higher output continued to have an impact this week. Phenol: Chang Chun Chemical's and Longjiang Chemical's phenol/acetone units were gradually brought back online. Aniline: a major plant in Shandong reduced its operating load, while Dongying Huatai restarted and is currently running normally. Adipic acid: unit operations fluctuated within the normal range.

Next period, taking into account recent maintenance turnarounds and restart activities, capacity utilization is expected to decline for caprolactam, phenol, aniline, and adipic acid, while styrene capacity utilization is expected to increase.