Acrylic Chain Report 2006
The “Acrylic Chain Report 2006” contains 80 pages
packed with up-to-date statistics on the entire value chain beginning from
propylene through to Acrylonitrile, down to acrylic fiber. The report presents
tabulation and graphical presentation of the trends and status of demand and
supply in the acrylic chain across various countries. An objective description
of the behaviour of individual segments of the value chain is also presented
analytically. Major investments and capacity shut down are captured briefly. It
covers time series on production, imports, exports and apparent consumption for
the period 2000 to 2005. Process description, end use and derivatives along with
the latest producer-wise capacity are an added feature of this report.
Highlights
In 2005, the US$5 billion plus acylic fiber industry expanded by 5.1% in terms
of value and by 2.8% in terms of volume. During the year, global production of
acrylic staple fibre touched 2,791 thousand tons. Acrylic accounts for 8% of all
chemical fibre produced in the world. The share has fallen dramatically from 15%
in the 1980s. During the last 5-year period ended 2005, ASF production has
increased at a rate of 1.25% per annum, the slowest growth rate among all
chemical fibres production.
Global acrylic staple fibre production capacity stands at 3,127 thousand tons.
Of this, nearly half is in Asia, with China accounting for almost a quarter of
global capacity. Japan, on the other hand, shares just 9.5% of global capacity
which has seen consistently falls from 13.5% in 2000. Turkey has maintained its
global share at 7.8% in the last 5 years.
China has emerged as a leading producer of acrylic staple fibre in the world. It
has production capacity at 900 thousand tons in 2005 which has grown by 50%
since 2000. In 2005, China produced 865 thousand tons of acrylic staple fibre,
which was up by almost 30% compared to a year ago. China is also a major
consumer of acrylic staple fibre. In 2004, the latest estimates, it consumed
about 1,125 thousand tons of acrylic fiber, of which 40% were imported.
In 2005, the acrylic fibre industry was adversely affected by rising raw
material cost. Acrylonitrile was dearer by almost 22-23% in USA, 16-17% in
Europe and by 20% in Asia during 2005. During this time, acrylic staple fiber
prices increased at a slower pace. They were up 15% in USA, 4% in Europe and
3-5% in Asia.
Acordis Acrylic Fibers and Solutia exited the acrylic businesses in 2005. This
led to decommissioning of almost 75,000 tonnes of production capacities.
However, the additions were much more. Mitsubishi Rayon, Hangzhouwan Chemical
Fibre and Aditya Birla Group have commissioned 190,000 tonnes of capacities in
China and Eqypt. In the pipeline are capacities aggregating 235,000 tonnes of
acrylic staple fiber. The projects are scheduled to come up in the next two
years. Turkish company Aska was also planning to set up an acrylic fiber plant
in China.
