Monopolistic competition in global nylon 11 market, Chinese market relies on imports

Nylon 11 is a polymerization product of amino undecanoic acid monomer. It has the advantages of stable chemical properties, excellent electrical insulation properties, and excellent mechanical properties. It is widely used in automobiles, electronic appliances, military industry and other fields. It is mainly used in automobiles, electronic appliances, military industry, etc. field, and also has a small number of applications in other fields. Among them, nylon 11 has the greatest demand in the automotive field. Nylon 11 can be used to make various automotive oil pipes, hoses, and air pressure pipes.

Nylon 11 resin was successfully developed by ATOFINA in France in 1947 and began industrial production in 1955. Although my country’s research on nylon 11 started early, and research on nylon 11 technology and applications began in the 1950s, due to the blockade of technology patents, the production process itself is very difficult to develop, so currently no company in our country has realized nylon 11. 11 Large-scale production. At present, the global nylon 11 market is basically monopolized by Arkema. Arkema’s nylon 11 production plants are located in Marseille, France, Pennsylvania, the United States, and Jiangsu, China (Changshu and Zhangjiagang).

At present, there are two main sources of supply for nylon 11 products in the Chinese market: one is supplied by Arkema’s Chinese factory, and the other is imported from Arkema’s French base or bases in other countries. Compared with imported products, the price of nylon 11 products produced by Arkema’s Chinese factory is lower, and the product supply is relatively stable and the supply cycle is short. However, the disadvantage is that there are few product specifications and brands, and some high-end brands still need to rely on imports. According to the“China Nylon 11 Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center, 2021 In 2017, China’s demand for nylon 11 was 17,300 tons.

From the perspective of import substitution, French Arkema has a monopoly in the global nylon 11 market. The nylon 11 needed for the development of China’s automobile, electronic appliances, cables, military and other industries is completely dependent on Arkema. However, under the influence of escalating global trade frictions, supply chain obstructions and the national “dual circulation” policy, China has accelerated R&D and industrialization development in key areas, especially new materials, to solve the “stuck neck” problem faced by China. In the future, with the development of China’s economy and the growth of demand for high-end materials, the demand for domestic substitution of nylon 11 will become increasingly strong. Domestic substitution will provide a broad market space for the development of the local nylon 11 industry.

Industry analysts said that in the short term, China’s nylon 11 market is dominated by Arkema. Due to its long time in the industry, regardless of In terms of product specifications, product quality, product performance, product supply scale, or channel layout, Arkema is in a monopoly position; superimposed nylon 11 production has high technical barriers, financial barriers, and scale barriers. As well as customer resource barriers, Arkema faces less competitive pressure from potential entrants and will continue to dominate the market for some time to come.