Polyamide is commonly known as nylon. Nylon resins belong to a group of high-performance plastics often referred to as engineering thermoplastics. These materials are noted for their outstanding properties, including high tensile strength; excellent abrasion, chemical and heat resistance and low coefficient of friction. Thus, they have particular utility in performing mechanical duties that traditionally relied on metal parts. Optical media, electronics, automotive and household applications are the major sectors of polyamide use globally.

The automotive market is the largest single market for nylon resin compounds. This sector consumes 40-45% of the Nylon-6 and Nylon-6/6 resin material. In recent years, much of this growth has been driven by new under-the-hood applications such as tanks, reservoirs, covers and manifolds. Nylon is by far the most widely used plastic for this purpose, due to its temperature and chemical resistance. Automobile intake manifolds, formerly made of metal, have been replaced rapidly by glass-fiber reinforced PA 6. The deciding factors in the selection of PA 6 for such applications are its excellent mechanical properties, moldability and ease of secondary processing such as vibration welding, an important process for the production of intake manifolds. Along with underhood parts, one of the most important application areas for PA is in fuel systems. The use of PA in fuel pipes is expected to expand soon. In recent years, nanotechnology has attracted attention in a number of fields. Materials technology is no exception, as the control of material structure at the nano level is sure to lead to the development of new properties. In fact, nylon was the first material to which nanotechnology was applied.
A recent technological development is the creation of new thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) materials based on nylon grades. TPEs are flexible and highly amenable to molding. These thermoplastic resins can serve as substitutes for rubber in many applications. Polyamide elastomers combine the friction and chemical resistance of nylon with the flexibility of rubber. These materials offer good flexural fatigue resistance and hydrolysis resistance. A variety of applications are expected including, sporting goods where resilience and durability are demanded, or in industrial tubing to provide both flexibility and chemical resistance.

The global consumption of polyamide in 2006 was about 7 million tons. Fiber accounts for 60% of the total consumption of polyamide (nylon) at almost 4 million tons. Engineering thermoplastic used as plastic material at 2.5 million ton has 35% share of the total global polyamide consumption. Polyamide film, with about 500,000 tons has almost 7% share of the total consumption. Globally polyamide is expected to grow at 5% compared to the commodity polymers which are expected to grow at about 4% for the next 5 years (at least up to 2010).

Among all the three major products of polyamide, polymer used as plastic and film are expected to grow much faster than fiber. Polyamide fiber faces strong competition from polyester fiber and is therefore expected to have the slowest growth rate. Nylon fiber demand is linked to the dynamics of the construction industry, available consumer disposable income and the strength of the domestic manufacturing and automotive industries. In recent years, the apparel and industrial sectors were impacted by increased imports of low-cost finished goods while the carpet segment remained essentially constant. Polyamide 6 based on caprolactum (polycaprolactum) is by far the largest type of polyamide. It has 65% share of the total polyamide consumption. Polyamide 6.6 comes second while special types of polyamide called polyamide 11 and 12 have very limited share.

Nylon enjoys wide use because of its excellent balance of properties. Automobile manufacturers are concentrating on meeting challenging environmental problems, such as improvement of fuel efficiency by weight reduction and, correspondingly, reduction of fuel penetration. The further adoption of nylon for new vehicle parts is expected to grow. Ongoing development will likely surround nanocomposites, offering many new opportunities for processors around the world. DuPont, BASF, DSM & Lanxess are the world major manufacturers of polyamide. China is growing very quickly compared to the overall growth rate worldwide. China is expected to be a world driver for the growth of polyamide mainly in plastic sector.