The U.S. market for structural carbon materials totaled nearly $2.1 billion in 2011, and is expected to hold a value of $2.8 billion in 2016, increasing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3%, according to “Advanced Structural Carbon Products: Fibers, Foams And Composites,” a new report from BCC Research. The U.S. structural carbon market can be broken down into seven segments: aerospace and defense, industrial applications, energy, automotive and other ground transport, sporting goods, infrastructure, and other.

The aerospace and defense segment held a value of nearly $1.1 billion in 2011, and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 6% to nearly $1.5 billion in 2016. The industrial applications segment was worth nearly $434 million in 2011, and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 6.2 % to reach nearly $586 million in 2016. The energy segment comprised nearly $311 million in 2011, and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 8.2 % to reach nearly $461 million in 2016. The automotive and other ground transportation segment was worth almost $100 million in 2011, and in 2016 is expected to be worth nearly $127 million, increasing at a CAGR of 4.9%. The segment made up of sporting goods accounted for $61 million in 2011, and in 2016 is expected to be worth nearly $64 million, increasing at a CAGR of 0.8%. The infrastructure segment was valued at $12 million in 2011 and should be worth $18 million in 2016, a CAGR of 8.8%. The segment made up of other structural carbon materials held a value of $57 million in 2011, and in 2016 should be worth $97 million, a CAGR of 11.1%.

The structural carbon materials industry serves mature markets such as defense and aerospace, with a variety of products satisfying the requirements of well-established applications. Continuous technical innovations and efforts to make structural carbon technologies available for new applications, however, are leading to the development of new markets.

Over the next five years, significant changes are expected to take place in global structural carbon products and applications. Technological advances in improving structure-property relationships of advanced carbon materials and breakthroughs in the manufacturing processes-resulting in lower costs-will lead to novel applications.

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