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A
new report titled “Lightweight Materials (Aluminum, Titanium, High
Strength Steel, Magnesium, Polymer & Composites and Others)
Market for Defense, Energy, Transportation and Other Applications—
Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast,
2014-2020,” by Transparency Market Research, Albany, N.Y., explores
many of the materials used in today’s lightweighting efforts across multi-
ple industries. According to the report, the global lightweight materials
market was valued at $126.3 billion in 2013 and is anticipated to reach
$186.35 billion by 2020, expanding at a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 5.8% from 2014 to 2020.
Increasing environmental concerns and regulations to reduce CO
2
emissions from vehicles are anticipated to boost the lightweight materi-
als market, especially in the transportation sector, say analysts. Addition-
ally, reducing vehicle weight increases fuel efficiency, driving demand for
lightweight materials in both the automobile and aviation sectors. Alu-
minum, titanium, and composites are widely used in aircraft structures to
support high payload capacity and enhance
energy efficiency. However, the high cost of
these materials in comparison to conven-
tional metals such as steel is expected to
slow global growth of the lightweight mate-
rials market during the next few years.
Key product segments include aluminum,
titanium, high strength steel, magnesium,
polymers and composites, and others. Alu-
minum alone accounted for 30.4% of the
worldwide lightweight materials market in
2013 and is expected to experience substan-
tial growth over the next few years. Com-
posites such as glass fiber reinforced
plastics, carbon fiber reinforced plastics,
metal matrix composites, ceramic compos-
ites, and other hybrid materials are anticipated to gain importance in the
near future owing to functional benefits over other lightweight materi-
als. These composites are likely to experience significant growth, although
their higher cost is expected to restrain usage during the forecast period.
Titanium is also expected to experience significant growth in the near fu-
ture especially in the aviation industry, say analysts.
Transportation—primarily automobiles, aircraft, and railways—re-
mains the largest application segment, accounting for more than 85% of de-
mand for lightweight materials in 2013. Other key sectors include defense
and energy. Lightweight materials are employed on a large scale in defense,
notably in vehicles and body armor. Another growing application area for
lightweight materials is wind energy systems (specifically rotor blades), pro-
jected to be the fastest growing segment in terms of volume and expanding
at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2014 to 2020. For more information, visit
trans- parencymarketresearch.com/lightweight-materials-industry.html.ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES •
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2014
4
spot l ight
feedback
market
Global lightweight materials
market to surpass $186 billion
by 2020
Reader urges sensitivity
to native cultures
I happened to note the caption under
the photo of the Fort Pitt Block House
on page 34 of the September issue
(MS&T14 Preview). The description
states that this structure is the oldest
building west of the Allegheny Moun-
tains, which didn’t ring true to me. My
first job after graduate school was at Los
Alamos and I fondly remember the
pueblos of northern New Mexico, which
I thought had been continuously inhab-
ited for over 1000 years, as well as some
of the old Spanish colonial buildings in
Santa Fe. Sure enough, a quick survey
of the “List of the Oldest Buildings in the
United States” on Wikipedia shows that
the statement in the caption needs a
qualifier—namely, the oldest “colonial”
building and in this case “colonial” refer-
ring to the original 13 colonies. Never-
theless, it did pique my curiosity enough
to plan a visit to the Block House during
my visit to Pittsburgh for MS&T.
Stuart Wright
Fort Pitt Block
House in
Pittsburgh,
circa 1764.
Oldest building
west of the
Allegheny
Mountains?
Not so much.
Taos Pueblo, a multi-storied residential
complex in New Mexico, circa 1450 A.D.
Courtesy of Luca Galuzzi,
www.galuzzi.it.
Historical metallurgy files
seek new home
After running a notice in the June
“Feedback” department, several of ASM
Life Member J. Gray Bossard’s historical
books and files have found new homes. A
few gems remain: Pittsburgh Chapter Di-
rectories, 1979 to 2006; Ronson Metals-
Cerium Metals and Alloys Division
brochures on rare earth metals; and a
Molybdenum Corp. data file on rare earth
metals in steel. If interested, send an email
to
frances.richards@asminternational.org.
Editors
We welcome all comments
and suggestions. Send letters to
frances.richards@asminternational.org.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL), Richland, Wash., is developing a
new production method for magnesium, a
key lightweight material, that would be
50% more energy efficient than the current
manufacturing process used in the U.S.
Courtesy of PNNL.