Continuous Fiber Composites Market

This report, from Stratview Research, studies the global continuous fiber composites market over the trend period of 2012 to 2017 and forecast period of 2018 to 2023. The report provides detailed insights into the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.

The Global Continuous Fiber Composites Market: Highlights

Composites have earned their way onto various end-use industries, propelled by a long list of their advantages including high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent corrosion and creep resistance, low-maintenance cost, and lightweight. The materials have a disruptive journey of more than eight decades and are efficaciously gaining penetration in both high-performance as well as cost-sensitive end-use industries. The penetration of composites is not likely to cede here and will penetrate more in the coming years.

Composite is one of the most versatile materials with the combination of different fibers, resins, and core materials. The availability of different manufacturing processes further raises the complexity of these materials. Also, there are different forms of fibers including continuous, chopped, and milled, whose selection is based on different requirements of applications including part strength, part cost, part geometry, and part complexity. Continuous fiber is one of the most common fiber forms used in various end-use industries including electronics, wind energy, automotive, and sporting goods.   

The global continuous fiber composites market is likely to grow at a healthy CAGR of 6.5% over the next five years, driven by a host of factors including an organic growth of composite rich end-use industries including automotive and aerospace & defense; introduction of stringent government regulations regarding the fuel efficiency enhancements and the carbon emission reductions; and superior performance of continuous fiber composites over traditional metals including aluminum and steel.  Both glass, as well as carbon fibers, are increasingly used in various applications, owing to their distinct advantages.

Continuous Fiber Composites Market: by Form Type

The continuous fiber composites market is segmented into the form type as Woven Fabrics, Non-Crimp Fabrics, Unidirectional Tape, and Others. Woven fabric is projected to remain the most dominant form type in the market during the forecast period, driven by a high usage in various end-use industries including wind energy, automotive, and electronics. Non-crimp fabric occupied a considerable share of the market, driven by an increased usage in wind energy. The fabric allows an easy flow of resin and provides good mechanical strength in multiple directions.

The unidirectional (UD) tape is likely to be the fastest-growing market over the next five years. UD tape offers the advantages of high impact strength, high mechanical strength at one direction, and excellent chemical and corrosion resistance. The fiber is gaining the traction in the aerospace & defense and automotive industries.

Continuous Fiber Composites Market: by Reinforcement Type

Based on the reinforcement type, the continuous fiber composites market is segmented into Glass Fiber Composites, Carbon Fiber Composites, and Other Composites. Other composites mainly include aramid fiber composites. Glass fiber composite is projected to remain the most dominant segment of the market during the forecast period, driven by a wide array of advantages including low cost, good mechanical performance, and excellent corrosion and abrasion resistance. The fiber mainly competes with metals including steel and aluminum and is considered an ideal material in highly cost-sensitive markets, such as wind energy, automotive, marine, and building & construction.

On the other side, carbon fiber composite is likely to witness the highest growth during the same period. Carbon fiber is catching world’s attention, driven by a host of factors including the demand for lightweight materials in order to fulfill the stringent government regulations of different countries regarding the fuel efficiency. Ongoing efforts for reducing the cost of carbon fiber further elevates its potential in many cost-sensitive industries. Carbon fiber offers a series of advantages in which the most important is an extreme lightweight coupled with excellent aesthetics.

Continuous Fiber Composites Market: by End-Use Industry Type

Based on the end-use industry type, the continuous fiber composites market is segmented into Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Wind Energy, Electronics, Sporting Goods, and Others. Wind energy is likely to maintain its dominance in the total continuous fiber composites market during the forecast period. Wind blades, spinners, and nacelles are the major composite applications in the wind energy and largely fabricated with glass fiber composites using continuous fiber composites. Increasing wind turbine installation across the globe is the prime driver for the demand for composites in this industry. China, India, the UK, Germany, and the USA are likely to remain the growth engines of the market for the segment over the next five years.

Aerospace & Defense and automotive are likely to be the fastest-growing markets during the forecast period, driven by an increasing penetration of composites in structural to semi-structural applications.  Stringent regulations regarding the fuel efficiency enhancements are the major factors driving the demand for composites in these segments. All the major OEMs are introducing composite rich vehicles and aircraft in order to meet the industry requirements. For instance; Boeing developed the B787 aircraft program, a next-generation aircraft, with 50% composite content of the total structural weight of the aircraft.  Similarly, Airbus developed the A350XWB aircraft, another next-generation aircraft, with more than 50% composites content of the total aircraft’s structural weight.

Automotive is also following the footsteps of the A&D industry. Major automakers are working closely with composite industry stakeholders with regards to increasing the composites content in their upcoming vehicle models. For instance; BMW developed BMW i3 vehicle using carbon composite passenger cell. It is the world’s first mass-produced model in the auto industry with high carbon composites content.

Continuous Fiber Composites Market: by Region

Based on the regions, Asia-Pacific is likely to remain the largest market during the forecast period, driven by China, India, and Japan. High installations of wind turbines, high automobile production, high electronic parts manufacturing, upcoming indigenous commercial and regional aircraft (COMAC C919 and Mitsubishi MRJ), and the opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus in China are some of the major factors driving the demand for continuous fiber composites in the region.

Europe is likely to witness the highest growth during the same period, driven by aerospace & defense and automotive industries. Europe is the manufacturing capital of premium and electric vehicles where advanced composites are efficaciously gaining traction. All the major premium and electric automakers are increasingly increasing the composite content in order to address the EU norms regarding the carbon emission reduction targets. Furthermore, they would like to excel the aerodynamics and aesthetics of their upcoming models. Increasing production rates of the A350XWB and A320 family including neo versions are further likely to boost the demand for continuous fiber composites of the region in the coming years. 

Continuous Fiber Composites Market: Key Players and their Strategies

The global continuous fiber market is highly competitive with the presence of a large number of global as well as regional players in which some of the players are vertically integrated from fiber manufacturing to intermediate products manufacturing to composite parts manufacturing.  Some of the major global players are Owens Corning Corporation, Saertex GmbH & Co. KG, Sekisui Jushi Corporation, Chomarat Group, Hexcel Corporation, Toray Industries, and SABIC Corporation.

Almost, all the major players own distinct capabilities and are serving specific product segments. For instance; Owens Corning Corporation leads the woven textiles market, whereas Saertex GmbH spreadheads the non-crimp textiles market. It is important to note that this reduces the overall competition as they do not have the presence in all the form types.  

Most of the major players are focusing on the development of innovating products addressing existing as well as upcoming market requirements. At the same time, they have been forming strategic alliances including mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, and collaborations, to remain competitive and to quickly gain the market share.

Research Methodology

Our reports offer high-quality insights and are the outcome of detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact book, press release, journals, investor presentation, white papers, patents, and articles have been leveraged to gather the data. About 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts have been executed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

• Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis
• Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter’s five forces analysis, SWOT analysis
• Market trend and forecast analysis
• Market segment trend and forecast
• Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.
• Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities
• Emerging trends
• Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players
• Key success factors

The global continuous fiber composites market is segmented into the following categories. 

Continuous Fiber Composites Market by Form Type:

• Woven Fabrics (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Non-Crimp Fabrics (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Unidirectional Tape (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Continuous Fiber Composites Market by Resin Type:

• Thermoset Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Thermoplastic Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Continuous Fiber Composites Market by Reinforcement Type:

• Glass Fiber Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Carbon Fiber Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Other Fiber Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Continuous Fiber Composites Market by End-Use Industry Type:

• Aerospace & Defense (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Automotive (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Wind Energy (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Sporting Goods (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Electronics (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Continuous Fiber Composites Market by Region: 

• North America (Country Analysis: The USA, Canada, and Mexico)
• Europe (Country Analysis: Germany, France, the UK, Russia, and Rest of Europe)
• Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Rest of Asia-Pacific)
• Rest of the World (Sub-Region Analysis: The Middle East, Latin America, and Others)

Report Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to 3 players)
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to 3 players)

Market Segmentation

• Current market segmentation of any of the country by application type

Competitive Benchmarking

• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances

Custom Research: Stratview research offers custom research services across the sectors. In case of any custom research requirement related to market assessment, competitive benchmarking, sourcing and procurement, target screening, and others, please send your inquiry at sales@stratviewresearch.com.