The global acrylics industry entered 2025 with little momentum and even less certainty. Costs were down, but so were margins; demand was stable in pockets, yet overall it was underwhelming; and producers faced a landscape where structural change became unavoidable. Across acrylic acid, acrylates, and MMA, the year evolved into a story of delayed investments, contested markets, and sustainability ambitions.
A Year Defined by Falling Prices and Fading Confidence
Acrylic monomer prices softened across all major regions in 2025, reflecting a confluence of lower feedstock values and weak economics throughout the supply chain. In Europe, buyers reported that monomer consumption remained below prior-year levels, while Western producers across coatings, adhesives, and plastics presented Q2 results that triggered widespread pessimism for the remainder of the year and into 2026.
The downward drift in monomer values shaped contracting behaviors. Acrylic resin agreements settled lower as producers protected domestic market share under pressure from imports, while in MMA, some European consumers chose to lock in higher-priced contracts simply for supply security. Others went the opposite direction, boosting spot exposure as global availability improved.
Lower resin prices collided with a sluggish macro environment. By May, EU imports of waterborne paints had risen sharply—up 30% year-on-year—but at prices 14% lower, a telling sign of how end-use segments prioritized value over loyalty in a crowded market.
Supply-Side Movements: New Capacities, Delays, and Quiet Retrenchment
Much of 2025's intrigue came from capacity decisions—both the announcements and the absences. Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation confirmed that it would not proceed with its long-planned 350 ktpa MMA facility in Geismar, Louisiana, citing evolving economic conditions. In contrast, Roehm's plans moved forward, with the company confirming C2-based MMA production in Texas and inaugurating its new LiMA plant in March.
Asian supply continued to build. BASF achieved mechanical completion of its glacial acrylic acid and butyl acrylate units at Zhanjiang, with the first batches already produced. Meanwhile, Shandong Nuoer's expansion carried additional weight in the increasingly competitive Chinese market. In India, momentum proved less predictable: Indian Oil's acrylic monomer complex, initially expected online early in the year, slipped toward a third-quarter or later commissioning, though its first BA line did start in August.
Elsewhere, consolidation accelerated. Trinseo exited European MMA production, and Cornerstone elected to mothball its acrylonitrile facility in Waggaman, Louisiana—another sign of the pressure facing upstream raw materials for MMA in the ACH process. Meanwhile, Nippon Shokubai signaled a decisive shift in strategy in its Mid-Term Management Plan 2027, distancing itself from the merchant acrylic acid market and doubling down on integrated SAP production.
Not all developments were cutbacks. The year saw a flurry of sustainability investments: LG Chem launched a bio-acrylic acid pilot using 3-hydroxypropionic acid, Arkema rolled out bio-based acrylic thickeners and collaborated with coatings majors to significantly reduce paint footprints, and academic–industrial groups advanced research into a glyceric acid route to bio-acrylic acid.
Downstream: Mixed Fortunes in Coatings, Adhesives, and SAP
Coatings producers experienced another year of difficult margin management, pressured by rising logistics costs in some regions and intensifying overcapacity in others. Yet consolidation and realignment continued. AkzoNobel chose France as the site of a new European coatings flagship, investing €22 million in Montataire while closing operations in the Netherlands and Ireland. BASF agreed to sell a majority stake in its coatings business to Carlyle Group, continuing a strategic portfolio pruning trend visible across the chemical sector.
Tariff dynamics returned to the spotlight when the American Coatings Association criticized new US duties affecting Canada and Mexico, its two largest trading partners. The acrylics industry benefited partially: SAP escaped additional tariffs, though PMMA remained regulated under USMCA provisions, but protected by automotive exemptions.
Advanced adhesives stood out as a rare bright spot. H.B. Fuller reported strong organic growth in the Americas and Asia-Pacific. A niche adhesive used for flooring and roofing in data center environments posted an impressive 40% annual rise, with a 30% increase expected in 2026. Henkel expanded its production in South Dakota, and US flooring-adhesive consolidation intensified competition in the acrylic PSA technology market.
In contrast, SAP faced a difficult year in the market. Producers cited low confidence, flat utilization, and income declines. BASF expanded its captive-use model for glacial acrylic acid in the US, thereby limiting exposure to poor merchant returns, while Nippon Shokubai pursued certification and vertical integration, including a groundbreaking ceremony for a new SAP line in Indonesia.
Trade, Geopolitics, and Pricing Pressures
Geopolitics shaped several regional markets, particularly in MMA. US pricing became increasingly sensitive. European MMA values plummeted amid fierce import competition, including aggressive offers from South Korea and China. Acrylate markets also felt pressure, sparking discussions about preliminary groundwork for a European anti-dumping case.
Investments and international partnerships also shifted the dynamics. Kuwait's Petrochemical Industries Company acquired a 25% stake in Wanhua Chemical's Yantai operations, thereby strengthening its role in the global methacrylates market. Meanwhile, North American companies across the acrylic value chain took steps to restructure their global manufacturing footprints, seeking efficiency ahead of anticipated slowdowns.
Acrylics and Construction: Hope in the East, Hesitation in the West
While Western construction demand remained lackluster, China offered cause for cautious optimism. The government's urban renewal strategy and the Yaxia hydropower program are expected to drive demand for cement additives and construction chemicals, supporting acrylic monomer consumption even as export competition intensifies.
In contrast, sentiment in Europe and North America leaned negative. Coatings producers were widely described by rating agencies as having “adequate but not strong” financial footing, with a negative outlook. Builders' merchants and DIY channels continued to destock at a slow pace, clouding visibility for acrylates in adhesives, sealants, and architectural coatings.
Entering 2026: A Market Still Seeking Balance
If 2025 was characterized by falling prices and fragile confidence, 2026 appears poised to continue along a similar trajectory—at least at the outset.
Early contract discussions in the US acrylic acid and derivative market already indicate significant price pressure, with suppliers bracing for requests for around 5 cents per pound reductions. Persistently weak demand, new supply from China and India, and an uncertain macroeconomic climate all underpin this downward momentum.
For MMA, structural oversupply remains the dominant force, though the scheduled closure of Asahi Kasei's Kawasaki C4-based MMA plant in 2026 will remove some older capacity from the system. Taiwan's ACH units may be next. Roehm's LiMA material is expected to gain commercial traction, reshaping the competitive landscape. Still, with global PMMA demand heavily tied to the automotive, appliance, and construction sectors, growth expectations remain muted.
Acrylates will continue to navigate uneven regional fortunes: Europe will wrestle with imports and soft domestic demand, North America will manage mixed end-use signals, and Asia will absorb new volumes while driving the next wave of bio-based and circular technologies.
Yet 2026 will not be without opportunity. The rise of near-shoring—especially as Chinese automotive OEMs move toward local European production—could reshape regional coatings and plastics demand. Data centers, electrification, and evolving sustainability standards provide additional sources of resilience.
Conclusion: A Market in Transition, Not in Decline
The acrylics chain in 2025 was characterized less by crisis than by recalibration. Producers, downstream consumers, and even policymakers spent much of the year adjusting to a reality in which oversupply, cost pressure, and global competition demand new strategies. The industry enters 2026 cognizant of the challenges ahead but also clearer on the work required: consolidating assets, embracing lower-carbon technologies, strengthening regional value chains, and navigating a geopolitical landscape that shows no signs of simplifying.
In the end, acrylics in 2025 did not collapse, but they need to be transformed. And through that transformation, the foundations of the next competitive cycle have already begun to form. US acrylate producers have been selective in their contracting for 2026, offering price concessions where they could increase volumes at the expense of competitors and raising prices where relationships and returns appeared less promising. Leading European suppliers have closed arbitrage at unsustainable levels. The Asian markets continue to seek the floor, although profits look negative. Demand is not there. Feedstocks are the only drivers as 2026 begins. Rationalization in the acrylic value chain lags behind and seems unavoidable.
Jaroslaw Cienkosz
Jaroslaw Cienkosz: Jan 16, 2026 1:00:01 AM
