According to China Chemical News, significant capacity expansion in recent years has plunged the caprolactam market into supply-demand imbalance, with intensified competition driving sustained price declines. As of November 3, the transaction price for caprolactam had fallen to 8,050 RMB per ton, setting not only a new low for the year but also the lowest price since 2021. This represents a decline of approximately 28% from the peak of 11,225 RMB per ton reached earlier this year.
At a caprolactam industry exchange meeting held in Jinan, Shandong on November 5, polymerization plant enterprises announced plans to implement a 20% production cut.
From 2020 to 2024, the caprolactam industry's production capacity increased from 4.33 million tons to 6.95 million tons, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.56%. In 2025, concentrated release of new industry capacity combined with weaker-than-expected downstream demand prompted companies to slash prices to secure orders, driving sustained downward pressure on product prices.
The 2025 caprolactam market exhibited a distinct pattern of “high opening followed by continuous decline”: upward movements were both brief and limited in magnitude, while downward trends dominated most of the year.
Persistently low prices directly triggered poor profitability across the entire caprolactam industry chain, propagating from upstream raw material suppliers to downstream end-product manufacturers. Industry losses significantly worsened in the second half of the year, particularly from September to October, when losses per ton temporarily exceeded 600 RMB.
During the week of November 13, the entire caprolactam chain reported losses: caprolactam plants recorded a weekly gross margin of -21 RMB; upstream cyclohexanone showed a weekly gross margin of -760 RMB; downstream nylon 6 chips posted a weekly gross margin of -35 RMB; and nylon filament yarn profits plummeted to -300 RMB per ton.
Facing industry challenges, caprolactam producers initiated voluntary supply-demand balancing actions. Previously, the sector had endured prolonged inventory accumulation with predominantly positive weekly supply-demand differentials, sustaining price pressure. As losses intensified, companies proactively reduced plant operating rates and scheduled maintenance starting in October to constrain supply. This shifted the market supply-demand differential into negative territory, successfully initiating inventory drawdown.
By implementing a 20% phased production cut to reduce market supply, the industry alleviated inventory pressure and downward price pressure, gradually restoring profitability and promoting coordinated development across the supply chain.
During the week of November 13, caprolactam weekly output reached 130,100 tons. It is projected to decline to 128,000 tons for the week ending November 17, with a supply-demand gap of -7,800 tons, further solidifying the supply-constrained market. Companies have been steadily reducing inventories recently and intend to continue stabilizing the market through production cuts to support prices. Inventories are expected to decrease further to 37,000 tons in the coming period.
As an integrated internet platform providing benchmark prices, on November 21, the benchmark price of caprolactam on SunSirs was 8,643.33 RMB/ton, an increase of 3.80% compared with the beginning of the month (8,326.67 RMB/ton).
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