Advanced Structural Carbon Products: Fibers, Foams and Composites

Report Highlights

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

• The market value of the top four types of advanced structural carbon materials is nearly $1.6 billion and is expected to rise at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 6.6% to $2.2 billion in 2011.
• The average price of carbon fiber will continue to erode due to a projected onslaught of low-end production. The market for carbon fibers is forecast to be $878 million in 2011.
• Carbon foams will grow from a small base of $11 million in 2006 at an industry-leading average annual rate of 18.3%.
• Structural graphite remains a relatively mature industry and its market will grow from $315 million in 2006 to only $348 million in 2011.
• Carbon-carbon composites, primarily used in high-temperature applications that demand structural integrity, will grow at an AAGR of 8.5%.

INTRODUCTION

The structural carbon materials industry is at a crossroads. It serves mature industries like defense and aerospace with a wide variety of products satisfying the requirements of well-established applications. These sectors are heavily regulated. However, continuous technical innovation and attempts to make its technologies available to civil markets at affordable prices are leading to new application segments.

Over the next half-decade, significant changes will take place in global structural carbon products and applications. Technological advances that improve structure-property relationships of advanced carbon materials and breakthroughs in manufacturing processes resulting in lower costs, will lead to novel applications.

This BCC study analyzes the driving forces that will shape the structural carbons industry over next few years. The report provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of recent advances in structural carbon materials manufacturing, its commercial applications and its worldwide markets. For the purposes of this report, these materials include all types of carbon fibers, carbon foams, monolithic structural graphite and carbon-reinforced carbon composites.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The report contains:

• Descriptions of the major types of structural carbon including key physical and chemical properties, raw materials and manufacturing processes
• Coverage of the technological, economic and considerations of the industry
• Analysis of the market forces relevant to the structural carbons industry and their areas of application
• Analysis of commercial applications
• Evaluation of present consumption and future demand for the North American and worldwide regions, with forecasts through 2011
• Technology trend analysis and forecast
• The impact of governmental regulations
• An outline of the structural dynamics of the industry along with profiles of key manufacturers.

METHODOLOGY

Estimates of current market demand are made for 2006 and projected over the next five years. Projections are made in terms of constant 2006 dollars. The growth rates are presented as average annual rates.

Market values were calculated simply by multiplying the number of pounds of material sold by the average price per pound. Confirmation of the numbers so reached was obtained by contacting several representative manufacturers in the structural carbons industry and analyzing published reports.

INFORMATION SOURCES

The information in this report was derived from interviews and communications with individuals in the industry, searches of on-line and print media including electronic databases, conference proceedings, patent literature, trade journals and newsletters. Company financial publications and news releases, filings with SEC, and their websites were also valuable sources of information.

ANALYST'S CREDENTIALS

The analyst has over 13 years of research and product development experience in the manufacturing industry. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering along with an MBA. This analyst has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals and is lead inventor on several patents.