Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Reducing structural weight is one of the most important ways of reducing fuel
consumption and improving the performance of motor vehicles and other types of
transportation equipment. For example, an estimated 75% of the average motor
vehicle' s fuel consumption directly related to factors associated with vehicle
weight
Less weight, consistent with other performance and safety requirements, means
more useful work can be extracted from a unit of fuel or other energy source.
In addition, weight-reducing technologies are critical to the success of new,
highly efficient energy technologies such as hybrid vehicles.
Downsizing is one approach to reducing structural weight. However, practical
considerations, safety standards, and consumer preferences combine to limit
the potential for reducing the weight of most transportation systems further
through downsizing.
The alternative to downsizing is the development of materials that combine
relatively low mass (weight) with the requisite strength, flexibility, and
other performance criteria. The aircraft industry was the first to introduce
lightweight materials (e.g., aluminum alloys) on a widespread scale beginning
in the 1920s. This continues today with the adoption of lightweight composite
materials.
Other industries, particularly the automotive industry, did not embrace
lightweight materials as rapidly as the aircraft industry. However, in the
1990s automakers doubled their use of aluminum in an effort to reduce vehicle
weight to meet federal fuel economy standards. While the Aluminum Association
projects that automotive demand for aluminum should slow in the early 21st
century, automakers are now incorporating growing amounts of composites in
their products.
SCOPE OF STUDY
This report:
- Evaluates the uses of, and markets for, high-technology lightweight
materials in key worldwide transportation markets. A comprehensive analysis of
these materials across numerous transportation markets and detailed forecasts
to 2012 is provided.
- Quantifies market segments, sizes and futures, but also reinforces the
growing trend toward globalization in manufacturing. Information presented
gives you a hands-on estimate of how globalization in this key materials
market is accelerating.
- Includes present and projected future applications and materials and new
market opportunities in these key segments: aeronautics and space, automotive,
trucks, trailers, mass transit, bus, subway, etc., off-highway equipment,
railroad cars, containers, recreational-sports vehicles, seagoing vessels
- Covers materials by application including metals/metal alloys/MMCs,
thermoplastics/thermosets, polymer matrix composites, hybrid structures, other
materials and processing methods, too
- Includes market shares, R&D developments, patent analyses and complete
company profiles.
INFORMATON SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY
The information sources and methodologies used to develop the market
projections in this report are discussed at length in the section on Global
Market for Lightweight Materials in Transportation Applications,
2006-2011/Detailed Market Estimates and Projections. In general, BCC used the
following approach:
- Identified commercial as well as promising developmental materials and
their target markets through a literature review and interviews with industry
experts.
- Estimated baseline (2005) market penetration ratio for each material and
target market.
- Developed forecasts of growth trends in each target market.
- Analyzed technical, economic and other factors that will influence the
ability of different materials to compete for a share of their respective
market(s) and estimated future consumption of each material on this basis.
- The report estimates the market for each technology in unit as well as
cost terms. Average cost data for 2005 to 2006 were obtained from a variety of
sources, including industry publications, manufacturers' price lists, and
contacts with industry sources. Where possible, BCC has estimated 2011 prices
based on factors such as historical price trends, supply/demand relationships,
and overall levels of production.
The report carefully documents data sources and assumptions. This way, readers
can see how the market estimates were developed and, if they so desire, they
can test the impact on the final numbers by changing assumptions such as price.
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