WP Report
Caprolactam
This World Petrochemical (WP) report on Caprolactam contains complete global and country supply/demand balances for the base year, the past five years and five and ten year projections. The complete report including the analyses and supply/demand tables contains approximately 130 pages. There is also a table showing all global producers, their locations, and capacities (current, historical and future) to produce Caprolactam, as well as capacities for derivative products.
Published January 2011
Abstract
Global production and consumption of caprolactam in 2010 were approximately 3.8 million metric tons. Global capacity utilization was 82% in 2010, an increase from 79% in 2009. Global caprolactam consumption is estimated to have increased by 6% in 2010 from 2009; it is expected to grow an average of 3.5% per year from 2010 to 2015, with slower growth of around 2.2% per year from 2015 to 2020. Average global utilization rates will decrease from the low-80s range to the mid-70s range during 2011-2013, then will begin to increase gradually to the mid-80s range throughout the forecast period.
Almost all caprolactam is used for nylon 6 production. An estimated 53% is used for nylon 6 fibers production and around 32% is used to manufacture nylon 6 plastics.