In 2025, the epoxy resin industry is at a critical period of structural oversupply and high-end shortage, where both general-purpose product excess capacity exacerbates market competition and the overall operating rate of the industry hovers at a low level. On the other hand, driven by emerging industries such as new energy, electronic information, and high-end manufacturing, there is a continuous growth in demand for high-end special epoxy resins, propelling the industry towards an accelerated transition to high-end quality and green transformation.

Key events in the epoxy resin industry in 2025:

April 30th - The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a final anti-dumping and anti-subsidy determination on imported epoxy resin from China, finding that the products would not cause substantial harm to the U.S. domestic industry. Consequently, the U.S. Department of Commerce will not issue countervailing and anti-subsidy tariffs against Chinese products involved in the case, clearing the way for exports of epoxy resin to the U.S. market from China.

May 7th - Hongchang Electronics announced the "Zhuhai Hongchang Second Phase Annual Production of 140,000 Tons of Liquid Epoxy Resin Project" officially commenced production. Following this investment, the company's liquid epoxy resin production capacity has significantly increased, reducing unit costs by 15%, further consolidating its market competitiveness in the electronics and electrical fields.

July 28th - Sinochem International released a restructuring plan, proposing to issue shares to acquire 100% equity of Nantong Shenjing. Nantong Shenjing's core businesses include epoxy resins and engineering plastics, covering an all-chain layout. This acquisition will strengthen the industrial chain competitiveness of Sinoma Chemical International's epoxy resin industry chain, achieving integrated coordination at the raw material, product, and application levels, aiding the process of domestication of high-end materials.

August 1st - DIC Corporation announced the construction of a new epoxy resin production facility in Japan's Chiba plant, which received recognition from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry under the "Steady Supply Assurance Plan," receiving a maximum subsidy of 3 billion yen. The project aims to meet the high-performance epoxy resin demand in the semiconductor field, introducing new processes to improve production efficiency and product quality.

Throughout the year - The structural oversupply pattern intensifies, with low operational rates and low total capacity utilization. In 2025, China's total epoxy resin capacity exceeded 4 million tons, with market size expected to reach 150 billion yuan. However, the industry's overall operating rate was only 51.44%, with less than 40% solid epoxy resin operating rate; East China region's capacity accounted for 52% of the country's total, operating at a low rate of 70%, continuously squeezing the survival space for small and medium-sized manufacturers. During the entire year - Added capacity was concentrated, leading cost advantage enterprises to dominate the competitive landscape. In 2025, an additional 720,000 tons/year of capacity was released, mainly due to the cost advantage of BASF integrated projects, squeezing out small and medium-sized manufacturers; Guangdong and Shandong planned to add an additional 390,000 tons of capacity, further enhancing regional concentration of capacity, with the CR5 of the industry expected to reach 58% by the end of the year. During the entire year - High-end market demand grew against the trend, with China's electronic epoxy resin market size exceeding 18 billion yuan, while wind power and new energy vehicles have shown strong demand for special epoxy resins in the new energy sector, with future construction projects in Yalu River downstream water stations project expected to consume up to 30-500,000 tons of epoxy resin.

December 23rd - Hongchang Electronics disclosed its "Quality Conservation and Return" action plan, revealing several capacity layout plans. The company is constructing "Zhuhai Hongchang Third Phase Annual 80,000 Tons of Electronic Grade Epoxy Resin Project" and "Zhonghe Functional High-Elevated Copper Board Electronic Material Project", further expanding high-end product capacity and perfecting the electronic industry chain layout.

2026 Year Outlook:

1. Policy-Level: Continue focusing on high-end substitution and green transformation, supported by industrial chain coordination. - It is expected that relevant supporting policies for the "New Material Industry Innovation and Development Three-Year Action Plan (2024-2026)" will be further implemented in 2026, providing research and development subsidies and market promotion support for key materials like electronic grade epoxy resins and high-end polyphenylene oxide.

2. Capacity Landscape: Concentration continues to rise, structural oversupply gradually alleviated. - It is anticipated that the annual increase in capacity will slow down in 2026, with total new capacity controlled within 500,000 tons, mainly concentrated in top enterprises' integrated projects. With the exit of small and high-cost capacities, the overall operating rate is expected to rise to about 60%, alleviating the structural oversupply contradiction to some extent. East China remains the core area, while central and western regions may maintain stable growth in capacity through policy support and industrial chain support, becoming new growth poles.

3. Outbound Market: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist, Diversification Strategy Becomes the Norm. - Benefiting from the positive impact of the American antidumping decision, exports to the U.S. are expected to grow steadily. However, global trade protectionism still exists, and companies will accelerate their diversified export strategies, expanding into "Belt and Road" countries and emerging markets, reducing dependence on single markets.

Summary: In 2025, the epoxy resin industry drove forward by policy guidance and market driving forces, accelerating the high-end and green transformation. High-end sector demand became an important support for the industry's development. In 2026, the industry will enter a critical phase of structural optimization, with high-end quality, centralization, and green transformation becoming core development directions, and the industry is expected to move towards high-quality development in a new stage.