Acrylics (PMMA): Overview
From shop signs to car tail lamps and bathtubs
What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate, sold as Plexiglas, Perspex or Acrylite) is polymerised from methyl methacrylate (MMA). It is clearer than glass, half its weight and weather-resistant, so it is used in signs, car rear lamps, display light guides, sanitaryware and glazing. PMMA took about 62% of 3.8 Mt of MMA demand in 2024, about 2.4 Mt (Chemical Week, May 2025). MMA capacity is 6.4 Mt/yr against that demand, and China holds about 44% of it. Mitsubishi Chemical, Sumitomo, Kuraray and PTT Asahi have closed or cut plants since 2021.
Volume about 2.4 Mt a year of MMA consumed in PMMA (2024, derived: 62% x 3.8 Mt MMA demand) Market value about $5-6 billion (2024, indicative, basis: 2.4 Mt x $2,000-2,500/t for resin and sheet) Growth PMMA demand about 2.6% a year over five years; MMA demand 2.7% a year to 4.4 Mt by 2029 Chemical Week, May 2025 (S&P Global data); value indicativeKey uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signs, displays and sheet products | 30% | about 0.7 Mtbasis | Cast and extruded acrylic sheet is clear, easy to cut, bend and print, and keeps its clarity outdoors for decades, so it dominates illuminated signs, point-of-sale displays and protective screens. indicative share, industry estimates | polycarbonate sheet PETG glass |
| Automotive (rear lamps, trims, light guides) | 20% | about 0.5 Mtbasis | PMMA moulding resins give scratch-resistant, weatherable and colour-stable lamp covers and piano-black trims at lower cost than coated PC. indicative share | polycarbonate ASA |
| Construction (glazing, sanitaryware, noise barriers) | 20% | about 0.5 Mtbasis | Acrylic baths and shower trays, skylights and transparent noise barriers use PMMA because it is light, weatherable and can be thermoformed. indicative share | glass polycarbonate enamelled steel and ceramic |
| Electronics and optics (LCD light-guide plates, lenses, optical fibre) | 15% | about 0.4 Mtbasis | PMMA has the best light transmission of common plastics (about 92%) and low birefringence, which suits light-guide plates in LCD backlights and polymer optical fibre. indicative share | polycarbonate glass cyclic olefin polymers |
| Medical, dental, appliances and other | 15% | about 0.4 Mtbasis | Bone cement, dentures and intraocular lenses use PMMA for biocompatibility; also appliance windows and cosmetics packaging. indicative share | silicones and hydrogels in lenses polycarbonate |
From raw material to user
- Feedstocks Acetone and hydrogen cyanide (ACH route), isobutylene (C4 route) or ethylene, CO and methanol (Alpha and LiMA routes).
- MMA monomer Global capacity 6.4 Mt/yr against 3.8 Mt demand in 2024 (Chemical Week, May 2025).
- Polymerisation Bulk or suspension polymerisation to moulding pellets; cell or continuous casting to sheet.
- Sheet and moulding Sheet is cut and thermoformed; pellets are injection moulded or extruded.
- Recycling PMMA can be depolymerised back to MMA by heating, one of the few plastics with an established monomer recycling route (indicative).
Made from (commodity table)
Oil Crude oilGas Natural gasThree things to know
- MMA capacity of 6.4 Mt/yr ran against 3.8 Mt of demand in 2024, and China alone has about 2.9 Mt/yr, 44% of the world (Chemical Week, May 2025).
- European MMA fell to EUR1,410/t on 21 July 2025, the lowest since Platts began the assessment in April 2024 (S&P Global, Jul 2025).
- Heating waste PMMA returns MMA monomer, so PMMA is a natural candidate for closed-loop chemical recycling (indicative).