Global aerospace plastics market is expected to reach US$10.5 bln

The global aerospace plastics market was worth US$6.2 bln in 2011 and is expected to reach US$10.5 bln in 2018, growing at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2012 to 2018. In terms of volume, the aerospace plastic consumption was 40.5 kilo tons in 2011 and is expected to reach 87.8 kilo tons in 2018, growing at a CAGR of 11.7% from 2012 to 2018. Steady growth in the aviation industry, excellent strength to weight ratio, and increased adoption of aerospace plastics in aircraft designs are largely augmenting the growth of the aerospace plastics market. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and Greenpeace regulations that are imposed upon the production of aerospace plastics are acting as a challenge for the growth of this market. These conventions primarily monitor the percentage of greenhouse gases emitted during the production of aerospace plastics. Furthermore, the high cost of raw materials, namely PAN (Polyacrylonitrile), utilized in manufacturing the aerospace plastics are acting as a restraint for this market. This study is a comprehensive estimation and analysis of four key end-user segments. The commercial aircrafts end-user segment accounted for 72% of market share in 2011 followed by military aircrafts, rotary aircrafts, and general aviation planes end-user segments. Aerospace plastics market is categorized into six application segments. Fuselage was the key application segment that accounted for over 28% of market share in 2011. Wings, empennage, flight deck and cabin areas are a few other key application segments estimated and analyzed in this study. In terms of volume, Europe dominated the global aerospace plastics market that accounted for more than 43.0% of the overall market in 2011. In Europe, Germany, France, the UK and Spain were the key regional markets and together accounted for more than 75% of the European market. Europe is expected to dominate the aerospace plastics market for the next five years, owing to the supportive government policies and rising investments seen in Europe over the past three years. Some of the European public bodies such as ONERA, CNES, and CNRT are inventing new materials that are in turn attracting aircraft manufacturers in this region. The U.S. aerospace plastics market had grown at a steady rate even during economic slowdown, primarily due to reasonable demand in the airlines industry. Increased air traffic and substantial rise in the military budget have provided adequate growth impetus for the North American aerospace plastics market. Asia Pacific is expected to drive the aerospace plastics market chiefly due to low labor overheads and huge investments. In Asia Pacific, the military aircrafts end-user segment is expected to grow, owing to adequate financial support provided by the government.Some of the key players supplying aerospace plastics include Hexcel Corporation, Mitsubishi Rayon, SGL Carbon, Toho Tenax, Toray Group and Zoltek Companies Inc. The report provides an overview of these companies followed by their financial revenue, business strategies and recent developments.