America Aerospace Composites Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The aerospace composites market in America is projected to grow with a CAGR of more than 5% during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

• The growth in demand for air travel and aerial connectivity in the North America and Latin America regions have driven the airlines to introduce new routes and increase flight movements, to cater to its growing demand. Also, the procurement of newer generation aircraft in the United States, Brazil, and other countries in the region is expected to propel the demand for aerospace composites market.
• The development of advanced materials (lightweight), as well as the introduction of new manufacturing technologies like 3D and 4D printing into the aerospace sector, is anticipated to support the growth of the market.
• The growing investments into space for manufacturing spacecraft with lightweight and other composites that can withstand cosmic radiation are expected to accelerate the growth of the aerospace composites market in the coming years.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the aircraft OEMs have decreased their aircraft production and airlines are postponing their expansion plans, which will affect the revenues of tier-1 companies of the aerospace sector in 2020 and 2021.

Key Market Trends

Commercial Sector Held the Highest Market Share in 2019

The growth in demand for air travel in North America and Latin America for tourism, personal, and business travel has led to rapid growth in air passenger traffic in the region, which is fueling the expansion plans (fleet as well route network) of various airlines. The fleet modernization plans of airlines are generating demand for newer generation commercial aircraft like Boeing 787, Boeing 777X, Airbus A320 family, and Airbus A350XWB among others. Boeing 787 is made of 50% composite materials (by weight), whereas Boeing 777X will have the largest composite aircraft wings in the world. Also, the primary structures of the A320 are of composite construction with aramid fiber (AFRP), glass fiber (GFRP) and carbon fiber (CFRP) reinforced plastics, whereas the wing structures and fuselage of A350XWB are made of CFRP. The growing investments to decrease the weight of the aircraft to minimize the fuel burn is anticipated to increase the investments into composites in commercial aircraft. To achieve this goal, various component manufactures of wing structures, thrust reversers, aircraft nacelles, and engine components are incorporating composite materials. In January 2020, Rolls-Royce announced its plan to open a new facility to make carbon fiber fan blades and fan cases for jet engines, which will significantly reduce the weight of the jet engine as well as decrease the fuel consumption and emissions.

North America will Dominate the Market During the Forecast Period

The North America region currently dominates the market and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. This is mainly due to increasing passenger traffic in the United States and Canada. Fleet expansion and modernization plans as well as an increase in operating routes by the airlines are propelling new aircraft procurement. Also, under military fleet modernization plans, the US Air Force plans to acquire a wide range of military aircraft in the coming years. The US government in February 2020, announced its plan to acquire the F-15EX fourth-generation version of the F-15 fighter (F-15 airframe is made from 2% composites, which include boron/epoxy empennage skins and a carbon fibre/epoxy speed brake). These aircraft will complement the country's fleet of F-35 fighter jet aircraft (approximately 40% made from composites) as well as combat drones planned to enter service in the coming years. In addition to these investments, the government is also investing in space exploration programs. In FY 2021 budget, the government allocated more than USD 25 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) human space exploration program. Such investments are expected to increase the penetration of composites in space programs planned to be launched in the future, which is expected to accelerate the growth of the market in this region.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the prominent players in the America aerospace composites market are Hexcel Corporation, Sekisui Chemical Co Ltd, Avcorp Industries Inc., Precision Castparts Corp., and COTESA GmbH. Avcorp Industries Inc. and Hexcel Corporation support the majority of the military and commercial aircraft programs. Additionally, COTESA GmbH provides composite parts to all commercial, military, and space programs of Airbus. The companies are entering into partnerships for the development of lightweight and high-strength materials for aerospace applications. For instance, in March 2020, the Composite Materials business segment of Solvay entered a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with SGL Carbon for the development of new carbon fiber aircraft parts for meeting requirements of mechanical performance and cost-efficiency.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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