Materials and Devices for High-Performance Sports Products

Report Highlights

• The total consumption of advanced materials and devices in the sports covered is estimated to be $703 million in 2005 and is expected to rise at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 3.0% to $816 million in 2010.
• The relatively low growth rate is mainly the result of saturation in some key markets such as tennis equipment, which have a relatively long history of using composites and other advanced materials.
• The main exception is nanomaterials, which should experience growth at an AAGR of 208% over the period. Golf- and tennis-related markets are expected to be particularly strong.
• The sports that consume the bulk of advanced materials and devices are cycling, boating, golf, fishing and hiking/camping and account for nearly three-quarters of the market.

INTRODUCTION

It is safe to say that in general, most serious athletes are performing at levels well above the norms of 25, 50, or 100 years ago. Much of the improvement is of course due to factors such as better nutrition, psychology, conditioning and training, but as athletes approach the point where their bodies are being asked to do all that is humanly possible, advanced equipment is becoming more important as a source of continued athletic performance improvement.

For example, after years of gradual improvements, record heights achieved in the pole vault began to increase more rapidly in the 1960s after the substitution of aluminum for bamboo poles. Today's tennis player uses an advanced composite tennis racket with an enlarged sweet spot, not the traditional wooden racket of 25-30 years ago.

New materials and devices are continually being introduced in products intended primarily for professional and serious amateur athletes, even as today's advanced materials and devices "trickle down" into mass-market sporting goods. This BCC market research report identifies and quantifies the market for cutting-edge material and device technologies used in sporting goods.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The report contains:

• Identification of advanced materials and devices that are used in sports equipment and other goods
• Properties/advantages and disadvantages/ competing materials or devices
• Pinpoints new materials and devices likely to be introduced in the next five years and their expected market impacts
• Commercial/developmental status of advanced products
• Market size, segmentation and growth trends with forecasts to 2010 by application and product
• Discussion of suppliers and buyers and profiles of leading companies

METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES

The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from sports products manufacturers, advanced materials and devices vendors and sports-related organizations. Interview data were combined with information gathered through an extensive review of secondary sources such as trade publications, trade associations, company literature, and on-line databases to produce the baseline market estimates contained in this report.

The base-year for analysis and projection is 2004. With 2004 as a baseline, market projections were developed for 2005 through 2010. These projections are based on a combination of a consensus among the primary contacts, combined with our understanding of the key market drivers and their impact from a historical and analytical perspective. The analytical methodologies used to generate the market estimates are described in detail in the section on Detailed Market Projections.

All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2004 constant dollars unless otherwise noted.

Analyst Credentials

The author of this report is Andrew McWilliams. Mr. McWilliams, a partner in the Boston-based international technology and marketing consulting firm of 43rd Parallel LLC, is the author of several other Communications Co. studies related to the subject of this report, including: GB-310 Nanosensors, GB-309 Smart and Interactive Textiles, RGB-334 Nanomaterials Markets by Type, RGB-319 Nanotechnology for Consumer Products, RB-216 Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Cosmetic Enhancement Products, and GB-218 Disabled and Elderly Assistive Products.