Nylon (PA6, PA66): Production
How China ended the PA66 shortage
What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World capacity | PA66 China nearly 1.5 Mt/yr (end-2025); world PA66 about 3.5-4 Mt/yr (indicative); caprolactam for PA6 9.9 Mt/yr (2024) | ResourceWise, Dec 2025; Chemical Week via caprolactam tile; world PA66 indicative | |
| World output | about 9-10 Mt (2025, indicative) | indicative | |
| Capacity utilisation | PA66 China about 65-70%; Europe about 60-65% (2025) | PA6 tracks caprolactam at about 70% (caprolactam tile). Chinese PA66 capacity growth outran demand of 0.90-0.95 Mt. | ResourceWise, Dec 2025 |
| Concentration | China about 60%; top three regions about 80% (indicative) | PA66 was an oligopoly built on ADN technology (Invista, Ascend, Asahi Kasei, Butachimie). Chinese ADN entrants broke it after 2022; Chinese PA66 capacity is now larger than Europe and North America combined (ResourceWise). | ResourceWise, Dec 2025; indicative |
| New capacity | more than 1 Mt/yr of further PA66 capacity planned in China (ResourceWise, Dec 2025) | China PA66 capacity was 1.051 Mt/yr in May 2024 and was projected at 1.281 Mt/yr after 2024 additions (Mysteel); 2024 additions included Invista 80 and 130 kt/yr, Yantai Huarun 40 kt/yr, Anhui Haoyuan 40 kt/yr, Shandong Longhua 40 kt/yr and Ningxia Ruitai 20 kt/yr. | Mysteel, May 2024; ResourceWise, Dec 2025 |
Top producing countries
China 60% · most PA6 chips (63% of caprolactam capacity) and nearly 1.5 Mt/yr PA66 United States 10% · Invista and Ascend PA66 chain (indicative) Western Europe 10% · BASF, Domo, Envalior, Butachimie ADN (indicative) Taiwan 6% · PA6 chip and yarn producers (indicative) Japan and South Korea 6% · Toray, Asahi Kasei, UBE, Hyosung (indicative) Chemical Week via caprolactam tile; ResourceWise Dec 2025; share indicative; indicativeLargest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invista (Koch) also ADN and HMDA in Shanghai and the US | US | 0.21 Mt/yr PA66 added in Shanghai in 2024 (80 kt + 130 kt) | 2024 | Mysteel, May 2024 (OilChem data) |
| Ascend Performance Materials integrated acrylonitrile to ADN to PA66 in Alabama, Florida and Texas; filed for Chapter 11 in the Southern District of Texas on 21 April 2025 with about $2 billion of funded debt and emerged in December 2025 owned by its term-loan lenders | US | not published | 2025 | Chemical Week, Apr 2025 (filing); Elevenflo case summary of court records, Mar 2026 (emergence) |
| Domo Chemicals bought part of Solvay's PA66 business in 2020 (indicative) | Belgium | not published | 2025 | not published in sources reached |
| BASF Ultramid PA6 and PA66 compounds; integrated caprolactam (indicative) | Germany | not published | 2025 | not published in sources reached |
| Hualu Hengsheng one of the Chinese ADN and PA66 entrants (indicative) | China | not published | 2025 | not published in sources reached |
| China Pingmei Shenma (Shenma) large nylon 66 salt and fibre group | China | 0.02 Mt/yr PA66 added 2024 (Shanghai Shenma Engineering Plastic) | 2024 | Mysteel, May 2024 |
| Highsun Holding large integrated caprolactam and PA6 chip producer (indicative) | China | not published | 2025 | not published in sources reached |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals (GSFC) India's only caprolactam producer; also makes nylon 6 | India | not published | 2026 | caprolactam tile (Indian Chemical News, Oct 2026) |
| SRF major nylon 6 tyre cord and industrial yarn maker (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | not published in sources reached |
| Century Enka Pune and Bharuch (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | not published in sources reached |
India makes nylon 6 yarn, tyre cord and chips, using GSFC caprolactam plus imports. It has no adipic acid, ADN or PA66 polymer production of scale and imports PA66 for airbags and auto compounds (indicative).
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | Home of the ADN technology holders; Ascend's Chapter 11 (April-December 2025) and weak auto demand show the strain. |
| EU | PA66 plants ran at about 60-65% in 2025 (ResourceWise); high energy and N2O abatement costs. |
| India | PA6 yarn and tyre cord industry; imports PA66; caprolactam anti-dumping case opened October 2026 (caprolactam tile). |
| China | From PA66 importer to surplus producer; HMDA and PA66 prices fell steadily in 2025 (ResourceWise). |
| Japan | Asahi Kasei and Toray hold airbag and specialty niches (indicative). |
| Middle East | Little nylon production (indicative). |