The global Caprolactam market was valued at USD 16.8 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 23.8 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 3.7% from 2023 to 2032. Caprolactam is an important intermediate for the production of polyamide 6 fibers and Engineering Plastics. Around 70% of Caprolactam is used to make polyamide fibers and the remaining is used for making polyamide 6 resin for injection molded parts and extruded films.
The global Caprolactam demand was estimated to be over 6800 thousand tons in year 2023 which has grown at aggregate rate of 3% between 2016 and 2023. Utilization rates were around 77% in last five years. Utilization rates declined from 80% to 72% between years 2016 to 2023 due to major capacity additions in China causing global Caprolactam demand-supply imbalance and restructuring in America & European Market.
The demand for Caprolactam is directly linked to the consumption of polyamide 6 resin and fiber. China is the largest market for PA 6 and therefore it is also a major consumer of Caprolactam. Caprolactam imports in China peaked in the year 2012 which was around 700 thousand tons and then imports declined on the back of a rise in new Caprolactam capacity in China. Still, China imported around 220 thousand tons of caprolactam which was mainly imported from the European market last year.
Major realignment can be seen in the European and US markets, with BASF reducing its Caprolactam capacity at its Ludwigshafen, Germany site by 100 KT (Sept 2016) and Fibrant (DSM -CVC capital JV) plans to scale down its Caprolactam capacity at its Augusta, US. China's focus on self-sufficiency has forced major Caprolactam and polyamide producers to realign with the market conditions. The effect of the reduction in Caprolactam supply was seen in spot price of Caprolactam in the months of November-December last year. Most of the Caprolactam manufacturers are in China, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Japan, India, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan.
In 2022, Asia Pacific was estimated to be the largest market for Caprolactam accounting for over 70% of the global demand. The region is projected to witness strong demand in the forecast period owing to the major Polyamide capacity additions. Caprolactam is used as an intermediate for the production of polyamide 6 fibers and Engineering Plastics. Western Europe is the second major consumer of caprolactam accounting for over 10% of the global market while North America accounts for less than 10% of the global caprolactam consumption.
In 2022, India caprolactam demand stood at 124 thousand tons and it is further projected to grow at a CAGR of 2.7% to reach 163 thousand tons from 2023-2032. India is a net importer of Caprolactam with an annual average import size of 50 thousand tons in last six years. Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GSFC) and Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) are the caprolactam producers in India, together producing around 120 thousand tons of caprolactam.
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