# Acrylics (PMMA): Cycles

Boom, bust and Western plant closures

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/cycles/

What this tab covers How its prices and margins move: past booms and busts with price levels, the spread or margin that the industry watches, the drivers of the cycle and the metrics to track.

MMA is a boom-bust market. Tight supply in 2017-2018 and 2021 sent prices far above cost; Chinese capacity, which doubled since 2020 to about 2.9 Mt/yr, then pushed the world into surplus with utilisation near 60%. PMMA prices follow MMA with a lag and a conversion margin that is steadier for cast sheet than for moulding resin. The floor is the cash cost of high-cost ACH plants, which are closing; the ceiling is substitution to polycarbonate or glass.
 The spread to watch **MMA minus acetone (0.68 x acetone) for ACH producers; PMMA minus MMA for polymerisers**

With acetone around $800/t (phenol tile, indicative) the ACH feed cost is about $550/t of MMA before HCN, methanol and acid regeneration. Asian MMA in the $1,200s/t in July 2025 left little margin for non-integrated ACH plants (derived, indicative).

#### Booms and busts

1. 2017-2018

Plant outages and strong demand tightened MMA worldwide; producers such as Mitsubishi Chemical reported record methacrylate earnings (indicative).

Asian MMA above $2,500/t at the 2018 peak (indicative)

2. 2021-2022

Post-Covid demand, US winter storm outages and freight disruption tightened supply again before Chinese capacity arrived.

Asian MMA about $2,000-2,500/t (indicative)

3. 2023-2025

China's capacity doubled and Western and Japanese producers closed plants: Mitsubishi Cassel (2023) and Hiroshima (2024), Sumitomo Singapore (2024), PTTAC (2024), Kuraray cut (2025).

European MMA EUR1,410/t on 21 Jul 2025, the lowest since April 2024; US spot 111 c/lb (about $2,450/t) on 14 May to 93 c/lb (about $2,050/t) on 21 Jul 2025; Indian buyers $1,600-1,800/t FOB China earlier, then $1,200s/t (S&P Global Platts)

#### What drives the cycle

- **Chinese MMA capacity.** About 44% of world capacity and still growing; sets Asian prices and export flows to India.
- **Construction and auto demand.** Sheet, glazing, sanitaryware and lamps follow these two sectors.
- **Closures of ACH plants.** Each closure tightens regional supply outside China.
- **Acetone and HCN availability.** ACH plants depend on phenol and acrylonitrile co-products.

#### Metrics to track

| Metric | Why it matters | Where to track it |
|---|---|---|
| **MMA DDP NWE, DDP USG and FOB China** | Monomer price setter | S&P Global Platts, ICIS |
| **China MMA operating rate and self-sufficiency** | Asian balance | Mysteel (OilChem) |
| **Plant closure announcements** | Supply exit | Chemical Week, company releases |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/links/index.md)