After slowing in 2007, China’s production of chemical fibers is on track to decelerate to its slowest growth on record this year, weighted down by its first year-over-year decline in forty months in June. Output through the first half of the year is up just 5.5%, well below the 19.2% gain registered in 2007. Growth slowed during much of last year, followed by June volume sliding -2.7% from twelve months earlier.

By region, synthetic fiber production continues to grow increasingly concentrated in China. The three largest provincial manufacturers—Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Fujian Provinces—enjoyed a combined 14.3% growth from this period last year, while the rest of China declined -2.2%. As a result, the combined share of these three largest hubs of chemical fiber production stands at an unprecedented 81.4% through the first half of this year.