Demand for Advanced Ceramics to Reach $12.6 Billion in 2012

Demand for advanced ceramics in the United States is forecast to increase 3.8 percent per year to $12.6 billion in 2012.  Following a few years of contracting demand in the early 2000s, the advanced ceramics industry rebounded from 2003 to 2007.  Going forward, growth will decelerate, as the industry faces recessionary macroeconomic conditions in the short term.  Monolithic ceramics (unreinforced ceramics cast directly into final form) represent the dominant and best established segment of the industry.  However, ceramic matrix composites and ceramic coatings will achieve the more rapid gains, primarily due to their favorable performance characteristics, such as enhanced strength and durability.  These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in Advanced Ceramics, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

The use of advanced ceramics is highly dependent on the health of the electronic components and electrical equipment industries, which combined accounted for 43 percent of total demand in 2007.  Opportunities in the electronic components industry will arise due to material substitution, as ceramics gain use over alternatives, as is the case with some capacitors.  However, the electronic components industry is projected to remain sluggish, limiting further advanced ceramics demand.  The electrical equipment market is sizeable but relatively mature with a comparatively low level of new product development.  Growth is therefore closely tied to overall prospects for electrical equipment and tends to be highly cyclical. 

The medical product market will post the most rapid gains, benefiting from the increasing utilization of ceramics in joint implants and dental procedures.  Demographic trends will also provide opportunities, as older individuals tend to require more joint replacements or dental work.  Several other markets are set to post above-average gains, including chemicals and plastics, environmental, industrial machinery and transportation equipment.  In the chemicals and plastics market, the fastest growth will arise in membranes, with growth accruing due to ceramics’ performance advantages such as toleration of high temperatures and harsh chemicals, promoting their use in difficult processing conditions.  Demand will also be driven by increasing penetration into specialty applications such as natural gas purification.  Emerging applications include the use of ceramic bearings in wind turbines.  Ceramics continue to gain use in various industrial machinery applications, such as cutting tools.  

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.