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World acrylic fiber capacity declined slightly over the past five years, as
plant closures and capacity reductions were not offset by new capacity additions.
In 2006, Asian countries accounted for 60% of world capacity, up from 43% in
2004. New capacity additions have been announced in countries such as China,
Thailand and India. There has been a shift of new acrylic fiber supply from
developed countries to low-labor-cost countries such as China.
In 2006, over half of the world’s acrylic fiber capacity was held by
the seven largest companies, several of which have full or part ownership in
plants throughout the world. The Sinopec Group (China) leads the list, followed
by Akrilik Kimya Sanayii (AKSA) (Turkey), Montefibre (Italy), Dralon (Germany),
PetroChina (China), Mitsubishi Rayon (Japan) and Formosa Plastics (Taiwan).
Over the past thirty years, most of the increase in acrylic fiber production
worldwide has been the result of significant demand for all textile fibers
(including acrylic fibers) throughout Asia. The following pie chart shows world
consumption of acrylic and modacrylic fibers:
In 2006, Asian countries (excluding Japan) together consumed more than seven
times the total amount consumed in the United States, Western Europe and Japan.
Much of Asia’s back-integration into acrylic fiber (most recently in
China and India) has been driven by strong local textile mill demand. This,
in turn, has been driven by apparel manufacturers, many of which export the
finished goods.
In spite of the recent displacement of acrylic fibers by cotton in some of
the traditional acrylic apparel markets (e.g., fleecewear, socks and sweaters),
the future for acrylic appears to be somewhat favorable. The global economy
continues to improve. Personal disposable income is also slowly improving.
Trade negotiations are creating potentially expanded markets, and other factors
are also contributing to their growth. For example, some of the traditional
acrylic markets that suffered incursion from other fibers have stabilized,
and yarn innovations by the acrylic producers are creating new niches in mature
markets. Worldwide acrylic fiber consumption should increase 2–3% annually
through 2011, with most of the increase occurring in Mexico and China.
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