Frost & Sullivan: Ability to Produce Lighter Vehicles at Lower Cost Defines Winners in Advanced Automotive Materials Market
3 November 1997
Frost & Sullivan: Ability to Produce Lighter Vehicles at Lower Cost Defines Winners in Advanced Automotive Materials Market
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 3 -- The market for advanced
automotive materials can never become mature or saturated. Today's innovations
may quickly become standard as even newer technology emerges.
Automobile manufacturers are under pressure from consumers and government
agencies to produce vehicles that perform better, are easier to recycle and
repair, are less expensive and polluting, are more comfortable, durable,
fuel-efficient, maintenance-free and are safer. Advanced materials contribute
to all of these goals.
According to strategic research by Frost & Sullivan (http://www.frost.com), North
American Advanced Automotive Materials, the six major segments in the market
are advanced powdered metals, aluminum and magnesium, plastics, ceramics,
glass and steel. Revenues for the magnesium market alone hit $370 million in
1996, and the aluminum market reached $5.5 billion, as auto makers search for
lighter, more recyclable materials.
Recycling has recently been gaining importance in the automotive industry.
Vehicles are now regularly being designed with recycled materials. Due to
stricter government laws and growing consumer concerns, auto manufacturers are
still searching for more recyclable materials. To be easy to recycle, these
materials must be relatively free of adhesives, coatings and paints, easy to
disassemble for sorting, recyclable into other components and recyclable many
times. Aluminum and steel are among the most recyclable materials because they
can be recycled repeatedly without losing their properties. Plastics, however,
are harder to recycle because they lose their properties when recycled as a
mixture of different plastics.
The major market trend in the advanced material market is the need for
lighter vehicles due to the demand for reduced emissions and fuel consumption,
say Automotive Analysts Joerg Dittmer and Inge Matthey. New technology trends
that manufacturers must be aware of are price, ease of manufacture, assembly
and tooling, weight reduction, and new research and development.
The main competitive issue for manufacturers is the ability to supply
materials that reduce vehicle weight at a lower cost than the competition. It
is also necessary to provide strong, long-lasting materials to replace current
materials. Advanced material manufacturers must meet auto makers' demands on
such issues as price, weight, recycling, quietness and safety.
Companies in the market are threatened by the possible preference of one
material over another. Participants in one segment of the advanced material
market need to be aware of developments in other segments. Suppliers of
aluminum parts, for example, compete against not just other aluminum parts
makers, but also against manufacturers of steel and plastic parts. While
market participants may be able to quickly catch up with a development in
their own field, they may be blindsided by a development in a related field.
It will likely be much harder to adapt to such a market shift. For example,
new plastics that tolerate the heat of the engine compartment are replacing
some underhood metal parts. This is a much greater challenge for the previous
suppliers of these parts than competition from other metal parts makers.
Although competition is fierce, several opportunities for growth lie in
the advanced automotive materials market. Companies that employ technologies
and manufacturing processes at lower costs will come out on top. For instance,
materials and alloys that can supply the most benefits at reduced cost will do
well. Decreased vehicle weight through the use of advanced materials is a goal
for manufacturers because decreased weight leads to increased fuel economy and
decreased exhaust emissions.
The companies participating in this market include: 3M, A-CMI
International Inc., Advanced Thermoforming Inc., Alcan Rolled Products Co.,
Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), Allied Sinterings, Inc., AlliedSignal,
Inc., Ceramic Technology Group, AlSiMag Technical Ceramics, Aluminum Company
of America (Alcoa), Amcast Industrial Corp., American Sintered Technologies,
Ametek Incorporated, AP Technoglass Co., ATC. Nymold Corp., BASF Corp., Bayer
Corporation Polymers Division, Becker Group, Borg-Warner Automotive, Brico
Metals Incorporated, Capstan Industries, Cerdec Corporation, Chicago Powdered
Metal Products Co., Chrysler Corporation, CMI-Precision Mold, Inc., Comtech,
Inc., Cookson Matthey Ceramics, Inc., Coors Ceramics Company, Corning Inc.,
D&S Plastics International, Dana Corp., Delphi Chassis Systems, Diemakers,
Inc., Domfer Metal Powders Ltd., Donnelly Corp., DOTT Manufacturing Co., Dow
Chemical / Dow Automotive, Dow Chemical Co., DuPont Automotive, Eaton
Corporation, Emporium Specialties Company, Inc., Engelhard Corp., Engineered
Sintered Components Co., Euromax International, Excel Industries, Inc., Ferro
Corp., Ford Motor Co., Ford Motor Company / Glass Division, Ford Motor
Company, Ganton Technologies Inc., GE Plastics, General Motors Corporation,
Gibbs Die Casting Corp., Grand Rapids Plastics, Guardian Industries Corp.,
Harvard Industries, Inc., Hayes Wheels International Inc., Hoeganaes Corp.,
HURON Plastics Group, Inc., Hydro Aluminum Adrian, Inc., Hydro Magnesium, ICI
America, Johnson Controls, Inc., Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., Key
Plastics, Inc., Keystone Powdered Metal Co., Kobelco Metal Powders of America,
Inc., 3Lacks Enterprises Inc., Lanxide Corporation, LDM Technologies, Inc.,
Libbey-Owens-Ford Company, LNP Engineering Plastics, Magna International,
Inc., Magnolia Plastics, Inc., Manchester Plastics, Markel Corp., MascoTech,
Inc., Meridian Magnesium Products Division, Metal Powder Components, Monsanto
Co., Nemak SA, Norton Advanced Ceramics, O. Hommel Co., OMG Americas, Inc.,
Plasco, Inc., PPG Industries, Inc., Pyron Corp., Quebec Metal Powders Ltd.,
Recticel North America, Inc., Reynolds Metal Co., Robert Bosch Corporation,
Siemens Automotive Corp., Sinter Metals, Inc., Solvay Automotive, Inc., SSI
Technologies, Inc., Stackpole Ltd., Superior Industries International, Inc.,
Textron Automotive Company, Thompson Aluminum Castings, Ticona Div., Tomco
Plastic Inc., Vidrio Plano de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Windfall Products, Inc.,
Zenith Sintered Products, Inc., AFG Industries, Inc., Alcan Aluminum Limited,
American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Audi of America, Inc., Apogee Enterprises,
Inc., Asahi Glass Co. Ltd., A. Schulman, Inc., Bayer Corp/ Industrial
Chemicals Division, BOC Coating Technology, Brockway Pressed Metals, Inc., The
Budd Company, Burgess-Norton Manufacturing Co., Cambridge Industries, Inc.,
Carborundum Corporation, CeramTec North America, Ceromet, Chrysler
Corporation, CMI International, Inc., Cummins Engine Company, Inc., Detroit
Diesel Corporation (DDC), DuPont Dow Elastomers, DuPont Automotive Polymers,
EASi Engineering, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Fansteel, Inc., Ferro
Corp., Ford Motor Company, GKN Automotive, Inc., Heany Industries, Inc.,
Hoechst CeramTec AG, Interlake Corp., Jaguar Cars, Land Rover North America
Inc., Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lotus Cars U.S.A. Inc., Metal Powder
Products Co., Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America Inc., Oak Ridge
National Lab, Phillips Petroleum, Powder Tech Associates, Porsche Cars North
America, Inc., Presmet Corporation, Sandia National Laboratories, Siemens
Corp., Siemens AG, Southwall Technologies, Inc., T&N Detroit Office, T&N plc,
Thermal Ceramics, USX Corp., Vetrotex Certainteed Corp., Western Sintering
Co., Inc., Environmental Protection Agency, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of
Energy, The Aluminum Association, Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), American
Iron and Steel Institute, American Plastics Council (APC), American Powder
Metallurgy Institute International, ASM International, Automotive Recyclers
Association, International Copper Association, International Magnesium
Association, International Tire and Rubber Association, Market Search, Metal
Powder Industries Federation, National Glass Association, Partnership for a
New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), National Paint & Coatings Association
(NPCA), Society of the Plastics Industry, United States Council for Automotive
Research (USCAR), Advanced Materials and Processes, Advanced Composite
Materials, American Glass Review, American Metal Market, AutoGlass, Auto and
Flat Glass Journal, Automotive Engineering, Ceramic Industry, Chemical and
Engineering News, Chemical Marketing Reporter, Chemical Week, Composites
Technology, Design News, Glass Industry, Glass Magazine, Glass International,
Industrial Ceramics, Mechanical Engineering, Metal Forming, Metal Finishing,
Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting company that
monitors the automotive industry for market trends, market measurements and
strategies. This ongoing research is utilized to update a series of research
publications such as #5746-18 North American Automotive Paints and Adhesives
Technologies and to support industry participants with customized consulting
needs.
Visit Frost & Sullivan's web site: http://www.frost.com
Report: 5715-18 Publication Date: October 1997 Price: $2950
SOURCE Frost & Sullivan