JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #88 - April 2014 - Special JEC Americas Spring Edition - 20

U.S.

Overview of the US composites industry:
The new JEC study
The US is a key geography for the global composites industry as it
represents around third of its ( 32 % in value and 28 % in volume).
Main trends

T

he United States accounts for about a third
of the global composite
industry's overall value, so it
constitutes a key geographical
area for that sector. The country
also leads in terms of composite
penetration rate, with around
7 kg per capita (versus ~4 kg in
Europe and ~2 kg in China).

Global leaders
The US composite industry also
has a number of representative
global leaders covering all key
stages of the value chain:
- Emblematic raw material leaders like Johns Manville, PPG,
and Owens Corning (glass
fibre); Cytec and Hexcel (carbon
fibre); ExxonMobil, Chevron
and DuPont (thermoset resins);
and Dow, Ashland and AOC
(thermoplastic resins).
- Global leaders in end-application industries like aerospace
(e.g. Boeing, Lockheed Martin,
United Technologies), automotive (e.g.GM, Ford, Delphi), and
construction (e.g. Owens Corning, Johns Manville).
- World-class R&D centres like
Advanced Materials in Transport
Aircraft Structures (AMTAS)
in Washington State and High
Performance Polymers and
Composites (HiPPAC) at Clark
Atlanta University in Georgia.

Players in the American composite industry benefit from three
global trends:
- Global growth driven by final
market applications where, on
average, 65% of the growth in
volume (across sectors) will be
driven by emerging Asian countries over the next five years.
- Innovation breakthroughs at
the global level, where R&D
and innovation are driving
the penetration of composites
further with respect to traditional
materials.
- A changing manufacturing and
sourcing footprint, with globalization of suppliers or - when
relevant - relocation of manufacturing to competitive countries
(e.g. China for glass fibre).

Annual growth
The recovery growth prospects
for the U.S. composite industry
are promising, with annual
growth at an expected 5% over
the next five years, or approximately 25% of global growth.
By 2018, about 70% of the US
composite industry's growth in
value should be driven by three
segments: aerospace (~30%), automotive (~25%) and construction (~15%).

Aerospace, automotive
and construction
Due to their strong competitive

20 jec composites magazine / No88 April 2014

boeing Everett aerial

position in the global aerospace
industry, U.S. aerospace composite players (who account for
about 60% of the global market
share) are expected to capture a
large share of the growth of the
global fleet of commercial aircraft. About 37% of this growth
will come from emerging Asian
countries.
With a 40% share, the U.S.
market dominates the global
automotive composite market.
Driven by further penetration of
composites (thanks to new fuelefficiency and CO2-emission
standards, innovation, and new
materials such as natural fibres),
this market should continue to
grow. U.S. automotive composite
players are likely to aim at further
growth through an accelerated
growth strategy in China, which
is - and will remain - the leading
market for global automotive
applications.
In the building and construction

(credit ®boeing)

sector, U.S. companies are leading innovation efforts in bridge
and residential-housing applications. The growth of U.S. players
in this segment will be driven by
the repair of ageing infrastructure
in the U.S. (especially bridges),
the recovery of the U.S. residential housing market, and - for
U.S. multinationals - continuing
urbanization in emerging Asia. n
More information:
www.jeccomposites.com

New 2014 :
Overview of the US
composite industry
This study
analyses the
US composites industry.
It presents
historical
demand data
and forecast
by sectors.
Published May 2014,
price: US$ 150 n
http://www.jeccomposites.com
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #88 - April 2014 - Special JEC Americas Spring Edition

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #88 - April 2014 - Special JEC Americas Spring Edition
