Japan is struggling to reach the production levels it had ten years ago, with figures still lagging by more than 100,000 tonnes. At the same time, the market has become more technical as regards both application sectors(automotive&rolling stock especially) and processing technologies.

The composite market in Japan is dragging its feet, at least in terms of volume. This can be explained by the many production plants that have relocated , particularly to China. In parallel, the market has grown in value with increasingly sophisticated applications and processes. Furthermore, Japan is still the champion when it comes to carbon fibre, a product with high added value.

A market on the mend

Though the market expanded over the 2003-2006 period, rising from 337,400 to 359,000 tonnes, the results are not completely satisfactory. The market actually experienced a slump at the end of 2006 in relation to 2005 during which volumes reached 364,000 tonnes. And we must remember that the market topped 479,500 tonnes in 1996. With 118,400 tonnes in 2006, the residential market i.e. mainly bathtubs and bath units, represents about a third of the overall market. This means that the composite market still has close ties with this sector and that market dynamics greatly depend on new housing construction programmes. This market progressed well over the 2003-2006 period seeing that it produced 97,300 tonnes in 2003. The automotive&rolling stock industry represents the other sector that has expanded volume-wise, rising from 24,200 to 38,700 tonnes, whereas the boat, industrial and miscellaneous goods markets have remained stable.

Several sectors losing momentum

Conversely, three sectors are pulling the market down with their inexorable decline: septic tanks, tanks&containers, and construction. The first sector dropped from 48,100 tonnes in 2003 to 44,200 tonnes in 2006. Other than in 2005, this sector continues to decline every year. For the same period, the second sector fell from 26,800 to 24, 700 tonnes. Last of all, the construction sector dropped from 50,700 tonnes in 2003 to 43600 tonnes in 2006. It is also worth pointing out that the first two sectors produced 107,100 tonnes and 42,400 tonnes respectively in 1996. The drop in volume is significant. The “miscellaneous applications” sector is also declining, which also means that composites are having trouble finding new outlets or applications outside traditional markets.

Processes: a slow-changing sector

Over the same 2003-2006 period, the use of processes experienced a slow but logical change, i.e. hand lay-up and spray-up fell from 37% to 31%, which is almost 2 points less per year. At the same time, moulding compounds gained 5 points. SMC and BMC have been dominating the Japanese market for a long time and this trend is expected to continue. This is related to growth in the automotive& rolling stock sector as mentioned earlier on. Overall, composite applications in Japan are expected to follow the EU and US markets trends.