Transportation Composites Market by Resin (Thermoplastic and Thermoset), Manufacturing Process, Fiber, Application (Interior, Exterior), Transportation Type (Airways, Roadways, Railways, Waterways), and Region - Global Forecast to 2029

Transportation Composites Market by Resin (Thermoplastic and Thermoset), Manufacturing Process, Fiber, Application (Interior, Exterior), Transportation Type (Airways, Roadways, Railways, Waterways), and Region - Global Forecast to 2029

The global transportation composites market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.7% from 2024 to 2029, with a projected value of USD 81.4 billion by 2029, up from USD 44.7 billion in 2024. These composites are widely used in many different industries, including the automotive, marine, and aerospace and defense sectors. Their extraordinary properties—such as great resistance to abrasion and wear, raised modulus and strength, enhanced stiffness, low density, amazing chemical resistance, and minimum creep—are what propel their acceptance. These characteristics make them extremely well-suited for a wide range of applications, including interior automobile panels, aviation constructions, and automotive components.

“The resin transfer molding process to be the fastest growing segment in terms of value in the global transportation composites.”

Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) is a manufacturing technology that has a remarkable Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in the transportation composites sector, with respect to value. RTM has drawn notice due to its effectiveness, affordability, and capacity to create complexly designed, high-quality composite parts. One noteworthy example of how RTM is becoming more and more prevalent is the way that top automakers are using it to create lightweight, yet robust components. For example, a well-known automaker in the Asia Pacific area used RTM to create composite body panels, which significantly reduced weight and improved fuel economy of their cars.

“Interior application is expected to dominate the market in terms of volume.”

It is projected that the transportation composites market would be dominated by the interior application during the forecast period. In this market, the transportation industry is expected to be a major user of composite materials, especially in autos. This trend is driven by the growing use of composite materials in automobiles. Moreover, the growing inclination towards thermoplastic composites in airplane parts, because of their remarkable strength and low weight, drives market expansion in the interior application sector. The railway industry also stands out as a major factor in the growing need for composites in interior applications.

“Carbon fiber composites is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment during forecast period.”

The fastest-growing fiber category is carbon fiber, which can be ascribed to its increasing use in a variety of industries. Carbon fiber automotive composites have superior qualities than glass fiber automotive composites, especially in aerospace and defense applications. Compared to glass fiber, carbon fiber is 30% lighter and has twice the strength. Its application in automotive settings began with racing cars, where its characteristics not only minimize vehicle weight but also guarantee increased safety because of its strength and stiffness, especially in monocoque frame designs. Notably, carbon fiber is used extensively for all structural parts of Formula One racing cars, offering outstanding crash resistance in addition to its other advantages.

“Roadways is projected to be the fastest-growing transportation type in terms of value and volume.”

Out of all the transportation categories, the roadways is expected to grow at the fastest rate. Composites are widely used in many different automotive situations, including cars, buses, military vehicles, commercial vehicles, and racing like touring cars and Formula 1. Numerous benefits are available to them, such as resistance to corrosion, electrical non-conductivity, flexibility, low maintenance needs, durability, and adaptability in design. Glass fiber composites are widely used for both exterior and interior components in vehicle applications. OEMs may comply with strict environmental standards and reduce vehicle weight and fuel consumption by utilizing the lightweight and remarkable strength of composite materials. As a result, there is a significant market for transportation composites, especially in the heavy vehicle market.

“Thermoplastic resin type is expected to be the fastest-growing segment during forecasted period.”

The principal advantage of thermoplastic resins as matrix materials is their malleability, which thermoset resins do not possess. Because of this feature, the composite that results is easily recyclable. Different kinds of thermoplastic resins function as matrix materials in the manufacturing of composites, making it easier to create complex material shapes. Thermoplastic composites make it simple to produce intricate structures. Furthermore, they can be used to fabricate enormous structures because they can be stored at room temperature.

“North America is the largest regional level market in transportation composites market in terms of value.”

North America leads the world the transportation composites market in terms of value, thanks to breakthroughs in the automotive sector, aerospace technology, and maritime engineering. Tight environmental restrictions and the region's strategic emphasis on lightweighting drive composites' widespread acceptance in the transportation industry. The use of composites in aircraft manufacture by the aerospace industry is a compelling case study that highlights North America's dominance. Composite materials are being used more often by major aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus to build sturdy, lightweight aircraft structures that improve fuel economy and lower emissions. Furthermore, there is a growing trend in the North American automotive industry toward the use of composite materials in vehicles to reduce weight and enhance performance and fuel efficiency.

This study has been validated through primaries conducted with various industry experts, globally. These primary sources have been divided into the following three categories:

By Company Type - Tier 1- 40%, Tier 2- 33%, and Tier 3- 27%

By Designation - C Level- 50%, Director Level- 30%, and Executives- 20%

By Region - North America- 15%, Europe- 50%, Asia Pacific- 20%, Middle East & Africa (MEA)-10%, Latin America-10%

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of company profiles listed below:

Hexcel Corporation (US)

Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan)

Owens Corning (US)

Gurit Holding AG (Switzerland)

Syensqo S.A. (Belgium)

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (Japan)

Teijin Limited (Japan)

SGL Group (Germany)

Royal DSM (Netherlands)

Research Coverage

This report covers the global transportation composites market and forecasts the market size until 2025. The report includes the market segmentation – Resin (Thermoplastic and Thermoset), Fiber (Carbon, Glass, Natural, and Others), Application (Interior, Exterior, and others), Transportation Type (Airways, Railways, Waterways, and Roadways), Manufacturing Process (Compression Molding, Injection Molding, Resin Transfer Molding, and Others), and Region (Europe, North America, APAC, Latin America, and MEA). Porter’s Five Forces analysis, along with the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges, are discussed in the report. It also provides company profiles and competitive strategies adopted by the major players in the global transportation composites market.

Key benefits of buying the report:

The report will help the market leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall transportation composites market and the subsegments. This report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to position their businesses better and plan suitable go-to-market strategies. The report also helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provides them with information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:

Analysis of key drivers (Increasing demand from aerospace sector, Growth of environmentally friendly electric vehicles, Increasing demand for high-speed rail (HSR)

Restraints (Obstacles in scaling up production, Lack of technological advancement in emerging economies)

Opportunities (Reduction in cost of carbon fibers, Increased demand for commercial aircraft, Growing leisure boats demand )

Challenges (Developing low-cost technologies, recycling of composite materials) influencing the growth of the composite market

Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research & development activities, and new product & service launches in the transportation composite market

Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets – the report analyses the transportation composite market across varied regions.

Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products & services, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the transportation composite market

Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies and service offerings of leading players like Owens Corning (US), Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan), Teijin Limited (Japan), Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (Japan), Hexcel Corporation (US), SGL Group (Germany), Syensqo S.A. (Belgium) among others in the transportation composite market.