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[February 2005]
US Advanced Ceramics Demand to Exceed $11 Billion by 2008
Demand for advanced ceramics in the USA is forecast to increase by 7.4% per year from a weak 2003 base to over US$11 billion in 2008. Following several years of reduced demand, the industry began to pick up momentum in 2003 and is now poised to record strong growth, with nearly all market sectors gaining from the release of pent-up demand. New or reinvigorated uses for ceramics that offer considerable growth potential include ballistic armour, ceramic composite automotive brakes, diesel particulate filters, a wide variety of prosthetic products, piezoceramic sensors and next-generation computer memory products. These and other trends are presented in 'Advanced Ceramics', a new study from The Freedonia Group Inc (Cleveland, OH, USA).
Consumption of advanced ceramics is highly dependent upon the health of the electronics and electrical products industries, which combined accounted for 55% of the total demand in 2003. The recession of the early 2000s had a significant impact on overall advanced ceramics demand, not only because of the steep decline in electronic applications, but also because other key markets - transportation equipment, industrial machinery, and chemicals and plastics - were adversely affected.
Demand in the electronics market, according to the study, will increase by 9.3% annually to reach US$4.3 billion in 2008. The increasing array of available electronic entertainment, communications and computing products will provide the primary impetus for growth. Industrial markets for advanced ceramics will also post strong gains, reflecting a renewed emphasis on capital equipment expenditures. In addition, those market sectors which weathered the recessionary storm reasonably well - principally medical and environmental products - will continue to post healthy gains.
Monolithic ceramics represent the dominant and best established segment of the industry. However, other product forms - specifically ceramic coatings and ceramic matrix composites - offer capabilities which monolithic ceramics cannot generally reach. As a result, coatings and composites are growing faster than monolithic materials, although they are not suitable for every application and thus only compete in certain markets.
Advanced Ceramics runs to 230 pages and is available at a cost of US$4,100.
www.freedoniagroup.com
ENDS