Global Fastener News

FASTENER HISTORY
1995 FIN – U.S. Industrial Fastener Market Projected to Reach $8.6 Billion by 2000

September 5, 1995 FIN – Spurred by heightened export demand and recovery in the commercial aerospace sector, U.S. shipments of industrial fasteners are projected to grow 4.3% per annum from a strong 1994 base, reaching $8.6 billion in 2000. According to a study written by Paul Bailin, growth in real terms will be a modest 2% annually, lagging gains in gross domestic product and aggregate shipments of manufacturers’ durable goods because changes in auto manufacturing have reduced the number of fasteners per vehicle and adhesive products are effectively penetrating traditional fastener markets. Bailin predicts fastener prices will rebound as consolidation and restructuring alloq the industry to pass on higher steel costs and expenses associated with the impending Fastener Quality Act. In addition, a great percentage of high value-added aerospace and other specialty fasteners will boost average dollar volume figures.
Bailin’s 186-page study, #710, Industrial Fasteners, is available from the Freedonia Group, Inc. for $2,800. Externally threaded fasteners will provide the best growth potential due to increased use of advanced threading equipment, Bailin told Fastener Industry News. “More important, perhaps, is the fact that these fasteners offer advantages unachievable by adhesives and welding – specifically the capacity to be disassembled for maintenance or recycling,” Bailin said. “As a result, externally threaded fasteners are relatively immune to competition from alternative bonding technologies.” Application-specific aircraft fasteners, self-clinching fasteners and threaded inserts will benefit from the growing use of plastic components in motor vehicles and other end-use markets, Bailin told FIN. Fasteners made from nylon and other thermoplastics will continue to gain market share as affordable, lightweight and easily installed alternatives to metal in many applications. Aerospace-grade fasteners will outperform standard counterparts, with shipments expanding nearly 5% per year through 2000. “Because these higher-end fasteners are often customer designed and employed in critical service applications, they have not felt intense competition from low-cost Asian imports to the degree that standard fasteners have since the early 1980s,” Bailin reported. A mature import market, traceability requirements of the FQA and expanding exports in Asia and Latin America will allow the U.S. fastener industry to close the trade deficit, he predicted. Aggregate U.S. sales of industrial fasteners are forecast to rise 3.6% annually through 2000 to $9.2 billion, Bailin said. “The largest portion of demand will be in the commercial aerospace equipment market, which analysts believe will see a long-awaited cyclical upswing in new aircraft orders,” he said. Construction of communications satellites and space launch vehicles will help offset ongoing defense sector weakness in the post-Cold War period. Bailin predicted the construction market will “hold good growth prospects, especially in the industrial and multiunit residential segments. Conversely, the vast motor vehicle industry, which ultimately accounts for 25% of total U.S. fastener consumption, will see demand decelerate in line with automobile production and manufacturers’ efforts to achieve further improvements in fuel efficiency by lowering vehicle weight. ©1995/2009 Fastener Industry News