Caprolactam is the precursor for nylon 6, which has a wide range of applications in chemicals, food and beverages, electrical, and automotive industries. The need for nylon 6 across industrial sectors will foster the global caprolactam market over 2016-2020. Caprolactam is polymerized to nylon 6 resins, nylon 6 fibers, and other materials.Nylon 6 fibers are the largest product segment of caprolactam, accounting for 64% of the market share in 2015. Nearly half of the processed nylon 6 fibers are used by the textile industry.The global caprolactam market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 6.93% during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the largest market for caprolactam,followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The growth of end-user industries in developing markets such as China and India are providing prospects for the market growth in APAC.Vendors in the market are focusing on the development of novel methods for the production of caprolactam. Bio-based nylon 6 is also being sought as an alternative to conventional nylon 6 owing to its sustainability and volatile costs of crude oil,which affects the costs of caprolactam.In this report, Technavio covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global caprolactam market for 2016-2020. The report also presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the five prominent vendors operating in the market.

PART 01: Executive summary ............................................ 6

Highlights 6

PART 02: Scope of the report ............................................ 7

Market overview 7

PART 03: Market research methodology ......................... 12

Research methodology 12

Economic indicators 12

PART 04: Introduction ....................................................... 13

Key market highlights 13

Process lifecycle 14

PART 05: Market landscape .............................................. 16

Global caprolactam market 16

Market size and forecast by revenue 16

Market size and forecast by volume 17

Five forces analysis 18

PART 06: Market segmentation by application .............. 19

Global caprolactam market by application 19

Market overview 19

Global market for nylon 6 fiber 20

Global caprolactam market for nylon 6 resin 21

Global caprolactam market for other applications 22

PART 07: Market segmentation by end-user ................... 23

End-user applications of nylon 6 fibers 23

End use applications of nylon 6 resins 26

PART 08: Market segmentation by feedstock ................. 32

Global caprolactam market by feedstock 32

Market overview 32

PART 09: Geographic segmentation ................................ 33

Market overview 33

Caprolactam market in APAC 34

Global caprolactam market in EMEA 35

Caprolactam market in Americas 36

PART 10: Key leading countries ....................................... 37

Key leading countries in global caprolactam market 37

PART 11: Market drivers ................................................... 41

Commercial importance of nylon 41

Growing economies: A boon 41

Rising demand from automobile sector 41

PART 12: Impact of drivers ............................................... 44

PART 13: Market challenges ............................................. 45

Hygroscopic nature of caprolactam 45

Volatile raw material prices 46

Large volumes of ammonium sulfate waste 47

PART 14: Impact of drivers and challenges .................... 48

PART 15: Market trends .................................................... 49

Bio-refineries: The future of petroleum 49

Shift in focus toward bio-based nylon 6 polymers 50

Technological advances 50

PART 16: Vendor landscape ............................................. 51

Competitive scenario 51

Major market vendors 51

Global customer base concentration 52

PART 17: Key vendor analysis ......................................... 53

BASF 53

Capro Industries 54

DSM 54

Honeywell 56

UBE Industries 58

PART 18: Appendix ........................................................... 60

List of abbreviations 60

PART 19: Explore Technavio ............................................ 61