Composite Floor Panels Market Growth Analysis

Market Insights

The composite floor panels market is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 4.5% in the next five years to reach US$ 620.6 million in 2024. Increasing production rates of key commercial and regional aircraft programs, such as B737, B787, A320, A350XWB, and A220; upcoming commercial and regional aircraft, such as COMAC C919 and Mitsubishi MRJ; increasing demand for lightweight flooring in the aircraft and rail industries; increasing demand for high-speed and metro trains, and rising global aircraft deliveries are the major factors bolstering the growth of the composite floor panels market.

A floor panel is made by layering a core material between two thin layers that provide strength in tension and are designed to withstand high compression loads. Floor panels are usually sandwich construction, mostly comprising honeycomb or foam as a core material and fiberglass, aluminum, epoxy prepreg, or phenolic prepreg as laminates. Both, laminates and core assembly are bonded using adhesives and form a sandwich-structured composite construction. Laminates carry the bending load, whereas the core materials carry the shear load in a sandwich panel.

Composite floor panels offer high mechanical strength, pressure retention, noise absorption, fire resistance or fireproofing, and protection against deterioration. Composite floor panels are exposed to a wide range of challenging conditions, such as high temperature and pressure, high load, high frequency of oscillation, and threat of fire and explosion. Hence, it becomes necessary to select a material that can handle such a harsh and extreme environment. The most commonly used core materials for making composite floor panels are Nomex honeycomb, aluminum honeycomb, foam, and balsa wood.

Secondly, composites have an excellent track record in the aircraft and mass transportation industries as the material offers numerous advantages over its rivals including a high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent corrosion resistance, excellent fatigue strength, and excellent durability at a lesser weight. The material is a suitable claimant addressing many challenges of the industry including lightweight systems.

Segments' Analysis

Composite Floor Panels Market Share by End-Use Industry Type

The market is segmented based on the end-use industry type as aircraft, rail, and bus. The aircraft industry is expected to remain the largest and fastest-growing segment of the market during the forecast period. Both the major commercial aircraft OEMs; Airbus and Boeing, are incessantly increasing the production of their best-selling aircraft programs in order to meet huge order backlogs of 13,315 commercial aircraft as of September 30, 2018. Irkut and COMAC, the newcomers in the commercial aerospace industry, also hold excellent order backlogs of their upcoming commercial aircraft programs, which is likely to further substantiate the demand for composite floor panels in the coming years. Introduction of lightweight and highly durable floor panels are the focal points of composite floor panel manufacturers, helping them to gain momentum in the market.

Composite Floor Panels Market Share by Core Material Type

Based on the core material type, the market is segmented as honeycomb core, foam core, and balsa core. In 2018, Honeycomb core-based composite floor panel dominated the market and is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. Honeycomb core majorly includes nomex honeycomb, aluminum honeycomb, kevlar honeycomb, and PP honeycomb. Nomex honeycomb is the most widely used core material in the aerospace industry owing to its superior FST performance, higher strength-to-weight ratio, and lightweight when compared to other materials, such as aluminum honeycomb and PP honeycomb.

Composite Floor Panels Market Share by End-User Type

Based on the end-user type, the market is segmented as OE and aftermarket. The OE segment is projected to maintain its dominance over the next five years. Increasing production rates of key aircraft programs, such as B737 and A320 family; market entry of new players, such as COMAC; and upcoming aircraft programs are driving the composite floor panels market. Bombardier, one of the market leaders in rolling stocks, has an order backlog of US$ 34.0 billion by June 30, 2018, which is likely to create a strong demand for composite floor panels for the rail segment in years to come.

Regional Insights

In terms of regions, North America is expected to remain the largest market for composite floor panels during the forecast period. The USA is the growth engine of the region’s market with the presence of major aircraft OEMs, tier players, composite floor panel manufacturers, and suppliers. All the major composite floor panel manufacturers have a presence in the region to address the emergent needs of the OEMs in order to be the partner for their upcoming aircraft programs.

Asia-Pacific is expected to experience the highest growth in the market during the forecast period. The highest growth of Asia-Pacific is mainly attributable to the increasing rail network; growing bus sales; increasing demand for commercial aircraft to support rising passenger traffic; opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus for B737, A320, and A330 aircraft programs; increasing procurement of military aircraft owing to rising defense budget; and upcoming indigenous commercial and regional aircraft (C919 and MRJ).

Market Scope & Segmentation

The Composite Floor Panels Market is segmented in the following ways:

Composite Floor Panels Market Size, Share & Forecast by End-Use Industry Type:

• Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Rail (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Bus (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Composite Floor Panels Market Size, Share & Forecast by Core Material Type:

• Honeycomb Core (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Foam Core (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Balsa (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Composite Floor Panels Market Size, Share & Forecast by End-User Type:

• OE (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Aftermarket (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Composite Floor Panels Market Size, Share & Forecast by Region:

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

Key Players

The supply chain of this market comprises raw material suppliers, floor panel manufacturers, tier players, OEMs, airlines, aircraft leasing companies, and MRO companies.

The key players in the composite floor panels market are-

• The Gill Corporation
• Triumph Group, Inc.
• Rockwell Collins, Inc. (now UTC Aerospace System)
• 3A Composites
• Encore Group
• Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH
• Zodiac Aerospace.

Development of optimized composite floor panels, regional expansion, and execution of mergers & acquisitions are the key strategies adopted by the major players to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Research Methodology

For calculating the market size, our analysts follow either Top-Bottom or Bottom-Top approach or both, depending upon the complexity or availability of the data points. 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. We leverage multitude of authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, government sources, trade associations, journals, investor presentation, white papers, and articles to gather the data. More than 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts are usually executed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report, from Stratview Research, studies the global composite floor panels market over the trend period from 2013 to 2018 and the forecast period from 2019 to 2024. 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 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.

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 three players)
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to three players)

Competitive Benchmarking

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

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