Polycarbonate Composites Market Size By Reinforcement (Glass Fiber Filled, Carbon Fiber Filled), By End-user (Consumer Electronics, Medical Instruments, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Plastics) Regional Outlook,Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2019 – 2025

Polycarbonate Composites Market Size

Global Polycarbonate Composites Market size was over USD 1,878.3 million in 2018 and will grow at a CAGR over 8.2% over the projected period.
 

Medical industry will be a major driving factor for polycarbonate composites market growth in the coming years. PC composites sales will be gaining momentum over the next few years owing to countries making prominent investments in medical infrastructure and companies investing in R&D for improvising existent product line. As per World Industry Outlook, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, the healthcare industry registered a total spending of approximately USD 7 trillion by major regions across the globe in 2015. It is projected to reach USD 8.7 trillion by 2020.
 

North America, mainly led by the U.S., accounted for a prominent share in global healthcare market spending. For example, the U.S., with 16.9% of GDP in 2016, spent considerably on health care as compared to other countries. U.S. healthcare spending surpassed USD 3 trillion last year, with growth rates likely to accelerate during the forecast timeframe. Major expenditure categories include hospital care (USD 1 trillion), prescription drugs (USD 328.6 billion) and physicians (USD 634.9 billion). Increased demand on healthcare system due to chronic diseases will be driving companies to invest in research & development activities that particularly focus on providing healthcare delivery solutions at low-cost for general population. Polycarbonate composites have potential applications in disposable as well as re-usable medical devices such as patient transport devices, surgical instruments, medical device housings and fixation devices.
 

Polycarbonate Composites Market Analysis

Glass fiber filled polycarbonate composites held a substantial chunk of global polycarbonate composites market in 2018. The segment will be witnessing maximum gains during the forecast years owing to the ease of availability and application in almost every end-user industry requiring polycarbonate composites. Addition of glass fiber into polycarbonate increases its overall strength and hardness and is thus rapidly replacing other plastic materials in automotive chassis manufacturing. The product segment shall experience demand in automotive, electronics and mechanical engineering segments owing to the good heat temperature, high strength and superior electrical insulation.
 

Carbon fiber filled reinforcement segment will be experiencing significant growth rate during the forecast timeframe. With carbon fiber reinforcing, the composite has excellent strength to weight ratio, which makes it ideal for quadcopters, biomedical devices and tools & fixtures. Graphene and carbon nanotubes and nanofibers will be witnessing moderate growth during the forecast period, as their application in end-user industry is at its nascent stage and need more research efforts in that field in the coming years.
 

Consumer electronics led the end-user segment of global polycarbonate composites market in 2018. Consumer electronics includes handheld devices, personal computers, television sets, video/audio devices, gaming consoles and personal care products. The end-user segment is very vast and shall experience new growth avenues in the coming years. Polycarbonate composites are used in manufacturing TV sets, tablets and notebooks due to their low weight, ease of processing and mechanical strength.
 

Electrical engineering will be the fastest growing end-user segment in polycarbonate composites market during the forecast period. The segment will witness a rapid increase in polycarbonate composites applications in the coming years. PC composites have excellent insulation properties and superior flame-retardant properties, which makes it highly suitable for electrical and telecommunication hardware.
 

Automotive industry held a substantial share in global PC composites market in 2018 and shall augment product demand over the forecast timeframe. Automotive companies are changing their preferences towards light weight yet high performing materials to replace heavy metal parts in vehicle body. PC companies is light weight, has high flexural strength and durability which makes it suitable for automobile chassis and other automotive interior applications. Asia Pacific and Latin America will be regions in near future which will be driving automotive sales and hence will be positively influencing PC composites market during the forecast period.
 

Asia Pacific led the global polycarbonate composites market in 2018, in terms of volume and value. The region has increasingly become hub for manufacturing start-ups and rapidly gaining investments from across the globe. The two main flourishing sectors are consumer electronics and automotive plastics. The sturdy growth in these sectors is propelled majorly by the exponentially growing sales numbers of automotive in the region. China, India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand are major automotive markets and have substantial demand for polycarbonate composites, which is also likely to increase over the forecast timeframe.
 

Growing consumer electronics market in North America and Europe will be driving polycarbonate composites demand in the coming years. There’s huge demand for handheld devices, small bots and tablets in these regions which has significantly driven polycarbonate composites application in consumer electronics in past few years.
 

Polycarbonate Composites Market Share

There are several companies operating in polycarbonate composites business. Some of the major player include

• SABIC Innovative Plastics
• Chi Mei Corporation
• Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
• Covestro
• The Bond Laminates GmbH
• Asahi Kasei Advance Corporation and Ensinger Gmbh
• Lanxess
• Triseo
• Teijin Japan

The value chain in polycarbonate composite manufacturing is very vast and involves companies at different legs of the chains. The resin manufacturers, the additives and fillers producer, compounding specializing companies, etc. play a vital role in delivering the product as per end-user requirements. Covestro is a major player in the market and has always emphasized on expanding its product line. The company has developed several polycarbonate brands which are blend in carbon, glass and other such fibers. Each reinforcement gives a unique structural feature to PC composites enabling it to be used for wide variety of applications.
 

Industry Background

Polycarbonate composites are produced from PC resin in combination with reinforcements such as glass, carbon, mineral, aramid, graphene, carbon nanotubes, etc. The product has good insulation, high mechanical strength and excellent flame-retardant properties. Mineral filled, graphene and carbon nanotube reinforced PC composites have high potential to be used in automotive industry as replacement to conventional plastics and metals. Increasing consumer demand for electronics, automotive and construction will propel product demand in the coming years. Development of higher strength and UV resistant polycarbonate composites is likely to offer growth opportunities in the PC composites business over the forecast duration.