"The Asian composites market is the largest in the world," highlights a recent report by the JEC Group, "JEC Observer I Current Trends in the Global Composites Industry 2021-2026. China accounts for 30 percent of the global composites market, while the rest of Asia accounts for 19 percent.

The JEC Observer notes that the value added in the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) markets is still higher than in Asia, and this can be seen in the transportation and aerospace sectors, which are large application markets in North America and Europe. As high-value markets: the price indexes for the transport and aerospace sectors are 120 and 1722 respectively (a very high level compared to the price of construction composites with a base index of 100). However, the JEC Observer also highlights that the two application markets, transportation and aerospace, have been the hardest hit by the new crown epidemic and have been slow to recover.

High value markets

Wind energy also has a high added value: its composite material price index reached 162, and it is worth noting that China and other Asian countries are very active in turbine blade manufacturing. Market intelligence from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) in its Global Wind Energy Report 2022 shows that of the 35 global wind turbine suppliers, 23 are located in the Asia-Pacific region, mainly in China and India. The top three turbine OEMs - Vestas, Siemens Gamexa and GE Renewable Energy - have established global partnerships with local partners in the Asia-Pacific region. China is a major base for wind turbine component manufacturing and a global export center for generators, blades and gearboxes.
As a result, JEC Observer predicts that emerging Asia will drive the growth of the composites industry in the future. China is expected to grow at an annual rate of more than 5 percent, higher than Europe and the United States, while India, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia should also grow at a comparable rate.

The report points out that the development of the global composites market is related to the economic growth of each region. The structural differences in growth between regions have been confirmed with the outbreak of the New Coronavirus crisis. 2019 to 2021, China and emerging Asia have maintained their position as the main growth drivers of the composites industry.

In the long term, market indicators look strong, as composites are inextricably linked to new applications driven by progress in sustainable development, such as electric vehicles, hydrogen production and storage, wind energy, water management, and steel reinforcement for new concrete materials. The JEC Observer announced that in addition to Asia and its strong potential, growth in North America and Europe should be driven by transportation, an application market that is expected to recover by 2023. This positive outlook is due to the development of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are more intensive in terms of composite materials. (Source: JEC Composites Information)