The global aerospace fasteners market size is expected to reach U.S. $7.05 billion by 2028, according to a new study conducted by Polaris Market Research. It should grow at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period.
Fasteners are the precision components used in aircraft to assemble different parts to form a complete structure. Although they are small C-class parts, they account for the highest part count in an aircraft. For instance, Boeing’s B747 aircraft has over six million parts — half of which are fasteners.
To learn more or to request a sample of this report, click here.
Aerospace fasteners are designed not only to simply perform assembly functions but also to bear or transfer load from one part to another. They’re subjected to extremely rigorous and strict standards for materials, processes, and quality assurance. These components must be certified by governments and OEMs, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing, and Airbus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the aerospace fasteners market severe distress, and the year 2020 was full of uncertainty. The availability of raw materials and the overall supply chain of aerospace fastener has been severely hit with closed borders and lockdowns. Further, a decline in aircraft orders and airlines deferment from receiving aircraft deliveries has caused disruption in the demand for aerospace fasteners as well.
However, the industry tends to recover at an impressive rate in the coming years and overall, there is an excellent growth opportunity for market players with stabilizing the aerospace fasteners market. Aggressive vaccination drives and resumption in air travel across the world are creating a healthy industry outlook in the coming years.
Growth drivers
Aircraft industry is constantly striving hard to overcome the challenge of reducing production lead time and enhancing faster assembly. Availability of efficient and mass volume of it can contribute toward timely part construction and assembly of systems or airframes.
There is also increasing demand for lightweight and high-performance aerospace fasteners made of advanced materials with seamless installation fueling the ma across the globe.
The aerospace fasteners market has been experiencing an array of technological advancements, with 3D printing being a notable one. It enables the industry to produce plenty of them efficiently and effectively faster and with excellent part quality. There’s also increasing demand for advanced coated component giving impetus to the aerospace market growth. The growing technological innovations are likely to surge the aerospace fasteners demand in the foreseen future.
Segmentation
The market is segmented in the most comprehensive way based on product, material, aircraft, application, and region.
Products
Nuts and bolts have been industry standard for assembly and joining of various structures, making them the most extensive product certified and used in aircraft. They’re extensively deployed in various application areas during assembly and MRO activities as they with-hold high tensile strength and can affix critical structural components together.
Screws are the most widely used threaded component in an aircraft, making it a dominant segment in the aerospace market. Advancements in technologies and innovations have led to the emergence of lightweight yet high-performance screws in the market driving, the growth at an exponential rate. Titanium screws have been among the best candidates with excellent strength, significantly lower weight than steel counterparts, and high corrosion resistance.
Materials
Aluminum alloy holds massive dominance in the market driven by its diversified usage across aluminum fuselage and wings. Best-selling aircraft platforms B737 and A320 including their variants, have aluminum airframes with aluminum-based aerospace fasteners deployed across surfaces.
Superalloys have ability to withstand extreme stresses and temperature environments experienced by aerospace equipment and components. Some of the key factors giving impetus to the growth of superalloys include high strength, extreme temperature resistance, weight savings, high versatility, and resistance to corrosion and creep factors.
Aircraft
Narrow-body aircraft withstands the highest share of the global market driven by metallic airframe construction of best-selling narrow-body aircraft platform giving impetus of aerospace fasteners over adhesives. Increasing aircraft deliveries and a huge pile of narrow-body aircraft order backlogs further ensure healthy market opportunities.
In 2020, Airbus was the largest OEM that managed to deliver 566 commercial aircraft, of which 446 alone were A320 family, and 38 were A220, both of which are key narrow -aircraft platforms across the world. The wide-body aircraft segment is more minor than narrow-body aircraft due to fewer deliveries.
However, there is a significantly high penetration of aerospace component in long-haul aircraft with wider bodies. For instance, two of the biggest aircraft platforms, B747 and A380 have more than six million parts and nearly half of which is just fasteners. The increasing share of next-generation wide-body aircraft platforms such as A350XWB and B787 having 50% content of composites is restraining the demand for aerospace fasteners as there is greater use of adhesives instead of fasteners.
Filed Under: Screws • nuts • bolts • rivets