Fiberglass market
The composites industry in the United States continues to show growth, especially driven by the wind energy, aerospace and construction industries. Overall, the value of the U.S. composite end-product market in 2019 is US $ 26.7 billion. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.8% over the next five years, reaching US $ 33.4 billion by 2025. Glass fiber-based composite materials dominate the market, followed by carbon fiber-based composite materials.
In the United States, glass fiber is the main reinforcement material, with an increase of 1.7% in 2019, with production and value reaching 2.6 billion pounds (1,179,360 tons) and 2.2 billion US dollars, respectively. By 2025, US demand for glass fiber is expected to reach 3 billion pounds (1,360,800 tons), with a compound annual growth rate of 2.4%.
Owens Corning, Jushi, Nippon Electric Glass, Chongqing International and Jiasi Maiwei are the top glass fiber suppliers in the United States. The glass fiber industry is quite concentrated, with the output value of the three major companies accounting for more than 50% of the total output value.
In the United States, the main users of fiberglass are the transportation (including automotive), construction, pipeline and storage tank markets. Together they account for 69% of the total usage. Future trends indicate that these important markets provide huge growth potential for the US composite industry. The increase in residential and commercial buildings, the continued growth of oil and gas operations and water / wastewater infrastructure, and the increasing demand for light vehicles are expected to drive this market.
In 2019, the global glass fiber demand is 11.6 billion pounds (5,261,760 tons), the production capacity is 12.8 billion pounds (5,806,080 tons), and the current utilization rate is about 91%. Lucintel predicts that the capacity utilization rate of glass fiber factories will drop to about 90% by 2020, because glass fiber manufacturers have added more production capacity.
In order to meet the growing demand for glass fibers in various application areas, companies are striving to achieve both organic and inorganic growth. In 2019, Jushi American Corporation put into operation an alkali-free glass fiber production line with an annual capacity of 96,000 tons and a total investment of US $ 350 million; NEC Glass acquired the remaining US PPG glass fiber business in 2017-2018, valued at US $ 550 million.
Carbon fiber market
In 2019, the global demand for carbon fiber is about 100,000 tons. Due to the increased use of carbon fiber in aerospace, wind turbine blades and other industrial applications, the market continues to grow at a rate of 10% to 12% per year. This growth rate may continue in the foreseeable future.
The carbon fiber segment application market is roughly as follows:
Wind energy – 25%
Aerospace – 20%
Sporting goods – 10% to 12%
Automotive – 10% to 12%
Compounds for injection molding – 5% to 8%
Pressure vessel – 5% to 8%
Construction and infrastructure-5% to 8%
Others – 15%
As more uses and new projects are put into operation, all market segments show huge growth potential.
In order to be recognized in any use, carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) must prove its technical and economic benefits. The main technical benefit of using carbon fiber in most applications is the high specific strength of the material, which will result in a lighter and more efficient structure. For example, by adding carbon fiber to wind turbine blades, a lighter and more efficient aerodynamic shape and blade design can be obtained. In automobiles, CFRP can reduce the weight of certain parts and assemblies by 50% to 75%, thereby improving fuel economy and emission reduction performance, or significantly extending the mileage of electric vehicles. If you continue to develop and adopt at the current rate, the future market segmentation scenario may be very different from today's situation.
Another factor affecting the market is that the carbon fiber industry's production capacity is still tight. The rated capacity of carbon fiber manufacturers may add up to 140,000 tons or more. However, considering the product mix and variety produced and the elimination effect inherent in the production process, the effective industry net capacity may be only about 110,000 tons. As a result, some manufacturers around the world, including North America (Mexico and the United States), Europe (Hungary and Turkey) and Asia (China), have announced some new factories and capacity expansion.
For carbon fiber to gain a greater share of the entire composites market, output is key. A large number of applications and widespread adoption of carbon fiber reinforced plastics require lower costs-the cost of carbon fiber materials and the cost of manufacturing carbon fiber reinforced plastic products. In terms of production scale, airplanes make one a day, cars make one every minute, and wind turbine blades, sporting goods and other products are somewhere in between. The relationship between output and cost is a question of "chicken first or egg first". However, we believe that if industry professionals work together, high-volume applications will be realized, leading to the necessary cost reduction and increased acceptance.
All in all, the market for carbon fiber materials and carbon fiber reinforced plastic end products is growing steadily and strongly. Demand has caught up with the available output, and various regions have announced expansions and will start production in time. However, as always, the secret to continuously exploring the potential needs of carbon fiber in all end uses is to use the right materials in the right way. The future of carbon fiber is very promising, and the development in the next few years is of concern.
(To be continued)