CFA Reports General Slowing of Composite Usage

摘要

As market statistics become available for the period following the September 11th incident, it is becoming apparent that, with few exceptions, the amount of composite materials being consumed is dropping. The Composites Fabricators Association (CFA) recently released some statistics regarding both the polyester resins market and fibrous composites. Both of these market outlooks indicated a drop in materials consumed of about 13.5 percent. Despite the significant drop in volume, there is hope for at least some of these markets in 2002.As can be seen in the table on the previous page, the downturn in the economy after the terrorist attacks has cancelled out what was expected to be an improving year for the composites industry. Every segment detailed in the CFA's database dropped. Significantly, the boating industry appears to have been hit the hardest, with material consumption dropping 20 percent. The aerospace segment seems to have been affected least during 2002, with consumption down only 0.9 percent. CFA's release indicated that 2002 might be better for the aerospace segment. It is CMR's opinion, however, that any increase in the production of composites will be canceled out by a dramatic slow-down related to the significant reduction in the production of commercial jet aircraft. Despite an overall loss in the transportation markets, the Automotive Composites Consortium predicts that reinforced plastics in automobiles should have grown by nine percent in 2001.