2021 Caprolactam Market Development Report

Caprolactam is one of the important organic chemical raw materials, most of which are used to produce polycaprolactam, and about 90% of polycaprolactam is used to produce synthetic fibers. Caprolactam is also used in the field of coatings, and a small amount is used to synthesize lysine.

The production of caprolactam uses benzene, toluene, and phenol as raw materials, and has many different process routes. At present, the main production methods in the world include cyclohexanone-hydroxylamine method, toluene method, photonitrosation method and so on. Among them, the cyclohexanone-hydroxylamine method accounts for more than 70% of the world's total production capacity, occupying an absolute dominant position. More than 90% of China's production capacity adopts the production process of cyclohexanone ammoximation with benzene as the raw material.

So far, the processes used in the production of caprolactam are all based on aromatic compounds or their derivatives. In the past ten years, some large foreign companies have actively researched process routes using non-aromatic compounds as raw materials. DSM, DuPont and Shell have jointly launched a process for producing caprolactam using butadiene and carbon monoxide as raw materials, and BASF has also applied for a similar patent.

Analysis and Forecast of World Caprolactam Supply

The world's production and consumption of caprolactam has grown steadily, and the growth rate of consumption is higher than that of production capacity. In 2019, the world's caprolactam production capacity increased by 4.5% year-on-year, and production and demand increased by 9.4% year-on-year. New production capacity in 2019 will mainly come from Northeast Asia, with less growth in other regions.

Asia, North America and Western Europe are the main production and consumption regions of caprolactam. In 2019, the supply and demand of caprolactam in the world are generally balanced, but the development of different regions is quite different. Asia is the world's largest consumer and net importer of caprolactam, with consumption in this region accounting for approximately 70.4% of total consumption.

In 2019, the total international trade of caprolactam reached US$1.59 billion, and the total trade volume was 1.029 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 24.2% and 5.0% respectively. In terms of price, the average export price of caprolactam in the world in 2019 was US$1543.0/ton, a year-on-year decrease of 20.2%. China, Germany and Taiwan of China are the world's main importing countries or regions of caprolactam, and their total imports account for about 56.5% of the world's total imports. Belgium, the Russian Federation and Japan are the main exporting countries, and their combined exports account for approximately 64.8% of the world's total exports.

It is estimated that by 2021, the world's caprolactam production capacity will reach 8.824 million tons/year. Among them, the expansion of capacity in Asia is the main factor driving the growth of the world's capacity, and the development of caprolactam in the world is gradually centering on Asia. With the continuous increase of caprolactam production capacity in countries such as China, Russia, and India, competition in the caprolactam market will become more intense. However, North America, Western Europe, and Japan are expected to have fewer new builds or expansions due to the slowdown in downstream demand growth. Considering profitability, some devices will be shut down.

Status Quo and Forecast of China's Caprolactam Supply and Demand

China's caprolactam production capacity has grown steadily. In 2020, caprolactam production capacity will increase by 6.7% year-on-year, and output will increase by 11.4% year-on-year. As of the end of 2020, there are 18 caprolactam production enterprises in China. Except for a 65,000-ton/year plant of Sinopec, which adopts the toluene production process, other plants mainly adopt the production technology of cyclohexanone ammoximation with benzene as the raw material.

In 2020, China's caprolactam imports will increase, with a growth rate of 32.7%, while exports are relatively small. China's caprolactam imports are dominated by imported processing trade and general trade. In 2020, China's caprolactam imported processing trade will account for 61.1% of total imports; general trade will account for 36.5% of total imports. According to the statistics of import sources, China's imports of caprolactam in 2020 will mainly come from the Russian Federation, Belgium, the United States and other countries, accounting for about 78.1% of the total imports.

In 2020, China's apparent consumption of caprolactam increased by 12.7% year-on-year, and the self-sufficiency rate decreased by 1.1 percentage points year-on-year. China's caprolactam consumption field is single, almost all of which is used to produce nylon 6 fiber and chips. Nylon 6 fibers are mainly divided into industrial yarns and civilian yarns. Industrial yarns are mainly used to make cord fabrics, carpets, fishing nets, etc., and civilian yarns are mainly used to make nylon clothing, stockings, umbrellas and other products. At present, the development of this industry focuses on the differentiated civil silk field. The caprolactam consumed by civil silk accounts for about 55% of the total consumption of caprolactam, the cord fabric accounts for about 16%, and the film and engineering plastics account for about 23%.

China's caprolactam will still have a large amount of production capacity released, and private companies are the main body of this round of caprolactam expansion. It is estimated that China will add 1.48 million tons of caprolactam production capacity per year before 2022, and the average annual growth rate of production capacity from 2018 to 2022 will be 11.1%.