World Bearings

World Bearings

World demand to rise 7.3% annually through 2018
Global demand for ball, roller, and plain bearings is projected to rise 7.3 percent per annum to $104.5 billion in 2018. Product sales will be fueled by healthy gross fixed investment and durable goods output growth as economic conditions improve worldwide. Also contributing to value gains will be a shift in the product mix toward more expensive, better performing units, supported by increasingly complex designs in bearing-using products and high energy prices, which make highly efficient bearings a more attractive investment. Unit demand is forecast to climb 5.3 percent per year to 53 billion in 2018, accelerating from the 2008-2013 period, although the overall rate of growth will be limited by greater utilization of higher-end, longer lasting units, which will reduce aftermarket product requirements.

China to post strongest gains of any national market
China will post the strongest gains of any national market in dollar terms. In fact, a little less than one-half of all additional product demand through 2018 will be accounted for by China. Market advances in the country will be supported by GDP growth well above the global average, ongoing increases in fixed investment spending, strong gains in manufacturing output, and healthy levels of motor vehicle output and sales. However, India, a smaller but still considerable bearings market, is expected to post larger annual gains in percentage terms. A number of smaller markets -- including Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, Thailand, and Malaysia -- will also record healthy sales advances.

US to be fastest growing developed national market
Bearing demand is projected to climb at a 5.9 percent annual pace through 2018 in the US, representing the strongest market performances of any developed nation, driven by an acceleration in economic growth and an upturn in investment expenditures. Product sales in Western Europe and Japan will rebound from recent declines, but market gains in these areas will be well below the worldwide average. Advances will be limited by generally sluggish increases in durable goods output and, in the case of Japan, further decreases in motor vehicle production. Market increases in Eastern Europe will be stronger than those posted during the 2008-2013 period but not as robust as those in other developing areas because fixed investment spending, automotive output, and other durable goods production will not rise as rapidly as in the Asia/Pacific, Africa/Mideast, and Central and South America regions. This will be due in part to subpar economic growth in neighboring Western Europe, which represents a major export market for many East European manufacturers.

Ball, roller bearings to be fastest growing products
Unmounted ball and roller bearings will continue to account for the vast majority of the product demand, with sales of these goods totaling $77.1 billion in 2018. Unmounted plain bearing demand is forecast to reach $12.8 billion in the same year, while sales of mounted bearings, combination ball and roller bearings, and parts will total $14.6 billion. Ball and roller bearings will register the fastest market gains of any product through 2018. This will be due both to increased output of machinery, motor vehicles, aerospace equipment, and motorcycles, as well as the performance advantages these products offer.