Short Fiber Thermoplastic Composites Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029

The short fiber thermoplastic composites market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% from 2024 to 2029.

Short fiber reinforced thermoplastics are made by extrusion compounding and injection molding techniques. They have useful properties such as lightweight, strength, stiffness, dimensional accuracy, and sliding properties. Several base grades and resins are available so that they can be applied to automotive, electric home appliances, sliding parts, and sports.   

The Short Fibre Thermoplastics (SFT) could have retained fiber length (RFL) of between 0.2-0.9mm. Compared to Long Fibre Thermoplastics (LFT) are manufactured in a way that the fibers are the full length of the pellet, and generally pellets retained fiber length (RFL) are 10-15mm long. The properties like low cost and design flexibility give an advantage over traditional continuous fiber composites. The direct additive manufacturing technique would manufacture the short fiber reinforced thermoset composites in the required geometry, strength, required fiber volume ratio, etc.          

Due to these necessary properties, short-fiber thermoplastic composites are in demand and growing in the automotive, aeronautics, defense, electronics, and electrical industries. The automotive industry is showing significant growth due to the growing demand for electrical vehicles. The short fiber thermoplastic composites are used in several body parts of the vehicle, such as pedals, brakes, seats, etc. With growing urbanization, the need for home appliances is becoming essential. Every house needs these applications for basic usage, and the demand for short-fiber thermoplastic composites could be relative to home appliance equipment as it provide necessary properties.

• United States electronic product imports have shown a jump of 10.22% from 2021 to 2022, having total imports of US$ 629.87 billion in 2022. This figure shows the growing domestic demand for electronic goods in the country. The short fiber thermoplastic composites are necessary for manufacturing electrical and electronic goods, making the demand for these inviable.
• The growing demand for electrical and electronic goods is also due to the high number of businesses using Information and communication technology. 78.10% of businesses in the European Union, 77.52% of businesses in the OECD, and 92.70% of businesses in Japan now use Internet technology, which signifies the use of electrical and electronic equipment in these organizations.

SHORT FIBER THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES MARKET DRIVERS:

Growing automotive industry:

The increasing automotive sector has increased the demand for short-fiber thermoplastic composites. The application of short fiber thermoplastic composite is essential for the automobile sectors for its toughness, high volume production, long life, and scrap recycling. These are very important for the automobile sector. The increase in the automotive sector is driven by the sales of electric vehicles. The electric vehicle demand is slowly changing the dynamics of the automobile industry, as it is taking a significant percentage increase in share every year. The sale of electric cars was 18% of all cars sold in 2023, which was 14% in 2022. This was only 2% in 2018.

The use of short fiber thermoplastic composites is multiple such as intake manifolds, clutch pedals, accelerator pedals, etc. However, the applications are confined to nonstructural components. It can be used for structural components after placing continuous fiber inserts along the load-bearing direction. Electric vehicle sales were 13 million in 2023. China, Europe, the United States, and India represent 88% of EV sales globally.

The short fiber thermoplastics align with the sustainability target as this is a recyclable material. In February 2024, Circularise joined the COMPASS project. This collaboration is between 13 leading European partners for remanufacturing sheet metal and thermoplastic composites. This would create a new benchmark for sustainability in the aerospace and automotive sectors. This would enable the remanufacturing of approximately 30% of sheet metal parts and thermoplastic composite panels. The yield would be €60 million annually in metal alloys and €500 million in composites by 2035 for conservation.

Growing Applications in Aerospace and Defence

Growing applications in aerospace and defense are one the major drivers for the short fiber thermoplastic composites. Short-fiber thermoplastic composites are used in the part of the airplane called lugs, which are used in the joints of the aircraft parts and hold concentrated forces. The growing demand for aircraft from civilian and military domains calls for the appropriate material for manufacturing these parts. The aviation industry in many developing countries showing robust growth. In India, there has been a surge in the induction of new aircraft to meet the demand for the growing air transport demand. The target of the government of India is to take operational airports to 220 by 2025.

These demands for the growing aviation sector are met through the companies manufacturing aircraft for civil and military purposes. In 2021, Boeing delivered 169 units, and figures remained steady at 162 and 165 in 2023 and 2022 respectively. Similarly, Lockheed Martin has a backlog of $160.6 billion in 2023, which could be converted into future sales. The demand for short-fiber thermoplastic composites can be correlated to the increased consumption of aviation products and parts. The required property for aircraft manufacturing can be satiated by the short fiber thermoplastic composites.

SHORT FIBER THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES MARKET GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLOOK

The Asia Pacific region to dominate the short fiber thermoplastic composites market during the forecast period.

The major economies like China, Japan, India, and South Korea dominate the Asia-Pacific region. Some of the fastest-growing emerging economies are from this region, such as ASEAN countries. China is the world's largest vehicle market, having the domestic production to reach 35 million by 2025. This sector has one of the largest applications of short fiber thermoplastic composite, increasing consumption at the industrial level. Further, China has the largest growing market for the electric car, it accounts for 60% of the total car registrations globally in 2023. The sales share for domestic sales for electric cars reached 35% in 2023. This figure was 22% in 2022. 

Moreover, in India, production trends for the vehicle are showing positive trends. Such as production increased to 12.55% in 2022-23 from 2021-22. The production was 25,931,867 (in numbers) in 2022-23. This includes all types of vehicles like two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers. The domestic sales of the vehicles are also showing a soaring rate of increase from 2021-22, reaching 20.36% for the year 2022-23, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). This robust domestic growth demands raw material inputs at the production level, driving the short fiber thermoplastic composites market growth.

The Asia Pacific region also has a huge population transforming from rural to urban. This transformation requires industrial growth, which could fulfill the demand for equipment and appliances for the urban lifestyle. Additionally, the raw materials and machinery are required for the production process. This would lead to the growth of the region's short-fiber thermoplastic composites market demand.

Short fiber thermoplastic composites market restraints:

• Longer fibers with similar properties to short fiber thermoplastic composites have certain advantages. It has a toughness advantage due to its 3-dimensional structure with a distributed area. Further, it has been observed to have better thermal properties and is shaped easily in simple and complex structures.
• Metal replacement can be easy with longer-fiber thermoplastic (LFT). The material offers light weightiness and a lower carbon footprint. Further, long fibers can provide appropriate load-bearing capacity with properties such as modulus, strength, and stress transmission capabilities.

Short Fiber Thermoplastic Composites Market Key Developments:

• In April 2023, Solvay and GKN Aerospace extended their 2017 agreement for developing joint thermoplastic composites (TPC). This is expected to increase the use of thermoplastic composite materials for aeronautic structures. Jointly, they are exploring new materials and manufacturing processes for future market applications. Together, they made successful projects of the TPC wing rib program. The project is to manufacture lighter and more cost-effective parts. This joint agreement makes both companies pool their joint technical and material expertise for manufacturing aero parts. Thermoplastic composites (TPC), are useful materials with the capacity to have lightweight ness and required strength for aerodynamics.

The short fiber thermoplastic composites market is segmented and analyzed as follows:

By Application

• Automotive
• Aerospace and Defense
• Consumer Goods
• Electrical and Electronics Equipment
• Other Applications

By Type

• Carbon Fiber
• Glass Fiber

By Resin Type

• Polypropylene (PP)
• Polyamide (PA)
• Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Rest of South America
• Europe
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• Rest of Europe
• Middle East and Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Rest of Middle East and Africa
• Asia-Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Rest of Asia-Pacific