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Home Commodities Chemicals Acrylonitrile Acrylonitrile prices, markets & analysis

Acrylonitrile prices, markets & analysis

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Acrylonitrile markets are covered weekly by ICIS in Asia, Europe and the US by our network of locally based reporters.

The reports contain news and market analysis to help you keep abreast of global movements and include information on spot and contract prices, upstream and downstream markets, as well as production issues and any other influencing factors. This unbiased market intelligence can help you to make informed business decisions.

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Market Overview

Updated to Q4 2020

Asia

Spot supply of ACN in Q4 was tight owing to production cuts and plant outages, both planned and unplanned in Asia and globally. The Asahi Kasei Group largely maintained reduced run rates across production sites. South Korea’s Tongsuh Petrochemical No 4 unit experienced technical issues in November. Taekwang Industrial also experienced technical issues and underwent a turnaround. There were turnarounds at Taiwan’s China Petrochemical Development Corp, China’s Shanghai SECCO and reduced run rates at Jiangsu Sailboat.

Downstream ABS plants operated at high rates amid strong demand for home appliances. Downstream acrylic fibre plants also operated at high rates with the peak season at the start of Q4. Subsequently, the market entered the off-peak season and together with surges in ACN prices, Chinese acrylic fibre producers cut production rates significantly. Asian acrylic fibre producers tried to maintain their production rates while trying to pass on the increase in ACN prices to customers.

Europe

Supply of ACN tightened as Q4 progressed, with two force majeures declared by the end of the year. The first was from Turkey’s Petkim in November. The company had been experiencing technical issues since the plant went down for planned maintenance in July. This was followed by INEOS Nitriles in Dormagen, Germany, in December due to feedstock supply restrictions. The year ended with no spot material or allocated contract volume for some buyers.

Demand in Q4 was far stronger than many had expected. Acrylic fibre (AF) was running at around 85-90% and even beyond for some and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) also showed good demand, particularly into the small appliance sectors. Sectors such as acrylamide and carbon fibre (with the exception of aerospace) were also doing well. Despite some increased restrictions in parts of Europe from a growing number of coronavirus cases, industry continued to perform beyond many predictions.

US

ACN supply decreased in Q4 following planned and unplanned outages. INEOS Nitriles had a planned turnaround at its 190,000 tonnes/year US Lima, Ohio, plant during the month of October. Cornerstone Chemical had an unplanned outage at its 240,000 tonnes/year US Waggaman, Louisiana, plant in late October after Hurricane Zeta caused power outages in the area. The plant restarted in early November but remained on force majeure into early December as it rebuilt inventories.

Demand increased during the typical destocking season as downstream demand recovered from coronavirus-related downturn earlier in the year. Demand for ABS and nylon started to rebound from September as automotive demand began recovering from the pandemic. Acrylamide demand into paper processing and water treatment was stable to strong. Acrylamide demand into oil and gas applications steadily increased but remained below pre-pandemic levels. Carbon fibre demand remained below pre-pandemic levels.

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Acrylonitrile news and market information products from ICIS

We offer the following regional Acrylonitrile analysis and news coverage to keep you informed of factors and developments affecting prices in the Acrylonitrile marketplace.

Price reporting

  • More information about the price reports we publish on Acrylonitrile
    Independent price assessments and market coverage by region

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Price history

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News & analysis

  • News & market analysis specifically relating to Acrylonitrile
    Breaking news of latest developments affecting the markets.Insight and analysis of factors driving prices.
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Pricing Intelligence

Pricing information

Regional price assessments, published daily or weekly, enabling you to keep track of trading prices, understand price drivers/fluctuations and set a benchmark for contract price settl ements. ICIS offers reports on over 180 commodities across the global petrochemical, energy and fertilizer markets. Information covered in our price reports includes:

  • Spot and contract price assessments
  • Market commentary on trends and developments
  • Transactions reported and confirmed
  • Plant and production news

Information is accessed online, via the ICIS dashboard service and is configurable to suit your preferences.

  • Find out more about ICIS pricing reports >>

Price forecast services

Produced by the ICIS Consulting team, these reports give a robust rolling 12-month price forecast, trade balances and in-depth analysis into where markets are heading – providing a valuable tool to support your short- to medium-term plans.

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Dashboard – Easy access to ICIS pricing data

ICIS pricing intelligence is delivered to you online via the ICIS dashboard. Here you can view your reports and also access other useful services including related news, analysis, historical data and market alerts.

ICIS dashboard also makes it easy for you to create pricing charts, download price history and export data to create tailored analytical models.

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Margin reports

ICIS weekly margin reports deliver the detail you need to understand how production costs and prices are affecting margins, enabling you to judge the likely impact on your business and optimise your upstream and downstream business decisions.

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Supply and Demand Window on ICIS Dashboard

The Supply and Demand Window on the ICIS Dashboard provides a snapshot view of historical and forecast information for supply and demand, production capacity and trade flows – a key tool to help safeguard future investments within the chemicals market.

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Industry News

News service

24-hour global coverage of breaking news in the petrochemical industry, including updates on production, shutdowns and key transacted deals, keeping you informed of market developments as they happen. The ICIS news service allows you to customise the market alerts delivered to your email inbox, providing the business-critical information you need straightaway.

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ICIS Chemical Business magazine

If you want to keep updated on the factors driving price movements in the global chemical markets, ICIS Chemical Business provides a summary of the information you need to support your business decisions. Every week, our global team of experts digests and summarises the key issues and their potential impact on the market – all in one magazine.

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An expert view of supply and demand comprising four fully-reconciled databases, giving you access to extensive data for more than 100 markets. Information is included on global and regional trade flows, production, capacity and sources of demand in the short-, medium- and long-term. Data can be downloaded, customised and queried to support your planning requirements and your strategic decisions.

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Training and Conferences

Training courses

ICIS provides specialist training courses across the global petrochemicals, base oils and fertilizers industries. Our training team of industry experts can help you increase your knowledge of the industry and gain the insight and know-how needed to operate and trade effectively.

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ICIS produces a series of highly informative and timely conferences. Extensive research is carried out to ensure that each programme delivers the information you need and addresses current industry issues. We source speakers who have the appropriate expertise and experience to deliver excellent quality papers.

Consulting

Global markets

Working closely with you to understand your strategies, challenges and ambitions, the ICIS consulting team deliver tailored advice and solutions to suit your unique requirements. With many years’ experience of guiding business leadership teams, we show you how market conditions can make a positive or negative impact on your long-term plans.

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China markets

ICIS expert consultants can provide your organisation with the insight, intelligence and data needed to build and grow your business in China. We can help you to gain a clear view on the short and long-term supply and demand picture in the chemicals, energy, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals and paper and pulp markets in China.

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Methodology

ICIS price assessments are based on information gathered from a wide cross-section of the market, comprising consumers, producers, traders and distributors from more than 250 reporters world-wide. Confirmed deals, verified by both buyer and seller, provide the foundation of our price assessments.

Our in-depth market knowledge drives our specialist focus, as we recognise the importance of individual market dynamics and not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Over 25 years of reporting on key chemicals markets, including Acrylonitrile, has brought global recognition of our methodology as being unbiased, authoritative and rigorous in preserving our editorial integrity. Our global network of reporters in Houston, London, Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Mumbai, Perth and Moscow ensures unrivalled coverage of established and emerging markets.

Acrylonitrile Methodology

Acrylonitrile (ACN) is used to make acrylic fibres, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN)

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About Acrylonitrile

Acrylonitrile (ACN) is a clear, colourless or pale yellow flammable liquid with a sweet, pungent, irritating odour. It is partially soluble in water, soluble in most organic solvents (including ethyl alcohol, acetone, benzene, carbon tetrachloride and ethyl acetate), very reactive and polymerises violently in the presence of alkalis or peroxides.

ACN is used mainly as a monomer or comonomer in the production of synthetic fibres, plastics and elastomers. The largest outlet is in the manufacture of acrylic fibres, which are used in clothing. Acrylic fibres also have uses in home furnishings and bedding.

An important outlet for ACN is the acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)/styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) market.

The dominant route for the manufacture of ACN is the one-step propylene ammoxidation process, replacing the original acetylene-based technology. New technology based on propane ammoxidation is being developed by a number of ACN producers with claims of a 30% production cost advantage compared to the propylene route.

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Propylene, Ammonia

ABS

News

PODCAST: Global ABS supply tighten amid cold snap, limited new capacities
Thu, 04 Mar 2021 02:13

SINGAPORE (ICIS)— Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) markets are seeing supply tighten all around the world, while capacity expansions continue to be limited. In addition, polar storms in the US...

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US GM extends production cuts as semiconductor shortage continues
Wed, 03 Mar 2021 19:49

HOUSTON (ICIS)--US automaker General Motors Co announced on Wednesday that production cuts at three North American plants will be extended amid the continued global shortage of semiconductors. The...

Read
PODCAST: Short global supply restrictions worsen on ACN
Wed, 03 Mar 2021 16:27

LONDON (ICIS)--Pressure on the global acrylonitrile (ACN) market is growing, with the recent winter storms in the US exacerbating an already “dire” situation. In this podcast, ICIS pricing...

Read
TOPIC PAGE: Coronavirus, oil price direction – impact on chemicals
Wed, 03 Mar 2021 10:00

ExxonMobil is cutting about 300 jobs in Singapore - or about 7% of its workforce in the southeast Asian country - by the end of the year, citing "unprecedented market conditions" brought about by the...

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