The Fédération de la Plasturgie et des Composites (FEP, Paris / France; www.laplasturgie.fr) has made a statement on the problematic PA 6.6 market. With processors concerned about possible breaks in production chains in the near term, and producers not quickly offering solutions, FEP is requesting raw materials producers to set up new production capacities as soon as possible, as well as respect their contractual commitments.

FEP notes that adiponitrile (ADN), one of the key precursors of PA 6.6, is manufactured in only four plants (three in the US and one in France) and this makes the market very vulnerable. The association says with a stoppage at only one of the plants, the entire production chain is impacted. Plasteurope.com has reported extensively on this – see Plasteurope.com of 06.04.2018. The four major ADN sites are at Bishop and Orange County, Texas, and Decatur, Alabama, in the US, as well as Chalampé / France.

Supply is structurally insufficient under current market conditions, FEP says, and of the force majeure declarations by raw materials producers now in effect, half are concerning PA 6.6 – see Plasteurope.com of 13.07.2018, 28.02.2018, 16.02.2018, 25.01.2018 and 12.01.2018.

New capacity will not be operational until 2021, according to the French plastics processors association. Plastics companies have been making efforts to find alternatives to the engineering polymer PA 6.6, however, FEP says that validating new materials often takes time, with results only bearing fruit in the medium and long term. This also adds to costs.

Without a short-term solution, the association says the shortage of PA 6.6 could have financial implications and impact deliveries of components for the automotive and home appliances markets in particular.