Nylon (PA6, PA66): Correlation
Prices it moves with, and why
Nylon 6 is made from caprolactam and nylon 66 from adipic acid and HMDA, all ultimately from benzene, butadiene or ammonia. It goes into fibres, tyre cord and car parts, and its price follows those monomers and vehicle demand.
Proxy US PPI: thermoplastic resins and plastics materials index (BLS base period) · monthly, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026There is no free public price for Nylon (PA6, PA66) itself, so this tab uses the closest public series as a stand-in. Read the numbers as an indication, not as the price of this exact item.
What its price moves with
Selected linkNylon (PA6, PA66) and Caprolactam
Monthly changes 0.38 weak correlation 12-month changes 0.73 strong correlation Last 5 years 0.09 monthly changes Lead or lag none No clear lead or lag Price function, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 Nylon (PA6, PA66) ≈ 6.37 × (Caprolactam)0.69 R² 0.79 On this fit, a 10% higher caprolactam price goes with a 6.8% higher Nylon (PA6, PA66) price over the long run. Units: index (BLS base period) and index (BLS base period).Chart: Nylon (PA6, PA66) and Caprolactam prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, log scale
Both prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, on a log scale so equal percentage moves look the same size.Chart: Nylon (PA6, PA66) price against Caprolactam price, monthly, log scales, with fitted line
Each dot is one month; paler dots are older (2006), darker dots recent (2026); the ringed dot is the latest month. The dashed line is the fitted price function. Both axes are logarithmic.Caprolactam is the monomer for nylon 6, so its price sets most of the cost of that grade. The cyclic intermediates proxy moves with the resin proxy at 0.38 monthly and 0.73 yearly.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsBenzene is the raw material for caprolactam and for the adipic acid in nylon 66. The petrochemical proxy moves with the resin proxy at 0.71 monthly and 0.89 yearly, which mostly reflects the broad resin index.
strong co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsAmmonia supplies the nitrogen in both nylon types, through hydroxylamine for caprolactam and nitriles for HMDA. The nitrogen fertiliser proxy moves with the resin proxy at 0.25 monthly and 0.57 yearly.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsPolyester competes with nylon in textiles, carpets and some industrial yarns, and is usually cheaper. The polyester fibre index moves with the resin proxy at 0.24 monthly and 0.42 yearly.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsCars use nylon for engine covers, connectors and tyre cord. The vehicle price proxy does not move with the resin proxy, -0.02 monthly, because car prices follow model cycles rather than plastic costs.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsHow to read these numbers
Correlation of monthly changes (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak.
12-month changes compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs.
Price function is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation.
Lead or lag checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months.
Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link.
Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site.