USD 5.1 billion
Report ID:
SQMIG20A2354 |
Region:
Global |
Published Date: June, 2025
Pages:
194
|Tables:
94
|Figures:
77
Global Commercial Aircraft Airframe Materials Market size was valued at USD 5.1 billion in 2023 and is poised to grow from USD 5.57 billion in 2024 to USD 11.26 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 9.2% during the forecast period (2025-2032).
The commercial aircraft airframe materials market is a vital component of the market which is propelled by the rising demand for lightweight, high strength and cost-efficient materials in the manufacture of aircraft. The market has witnessed colossal change over time with a major emphasis on decreasing fuel consumption, emissions and most importantly improving overall aircraft performance.
The shift to new materials such as composites, aluminium alloys and titanium has been among the key trends over the last several years. These materials have improved strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance and longevity, and are appropriate for new aircraft configurations. The growing emphasis on sustainability, and green legislation has also accelerated the adoption of new materials, reducing the environmental footprint of aviation.
The increase in new aircraft orders from developing countries together with the aging fleet replacements in established markets drive industry expansion. Manufacturers now focus on creating cabin interior materials which enhance passenger safety while delivering better comfort without weakening the aircraft structure. Emerging trends such as flight electrification along with new technology adoption drive the expansion of opportunities for material development."
As the aviation sector continues to recover from the downturn caused by global events, the commercial aircraft airframe materials market is expected to experience long-term growth. The market future will be shaped by ongoing research and development efforts, collaborations and adoption of new production methods.
How is Technology Transforming the Commercial Aircraft Airframe Materials Market?
Technological innovations are transforming the airframe material environment of commercial aircraft by enabling the production of lighter, stronger and more resilient materials. Advances in material science, such as carbon composites and titanium alloys are pushing fuel efficiency and strength. Additive production, popularly referred to as 3D printing is also contributing by enabling the production of complex structures, while reducing waste and accelerating the creation of prototypes. Such technologies are supporting the aviation industry push, towards sustainable production and reduced lifecycle emissions.
In 2025 Boeing collaborated with the Swiss firm Oerlikon to develop additive manufacturing processes for titanium parts employed in commercial airframes. The collaboration will allow the production of components to its full capability, reduce costs and meet stringent aerospace performance standards thus the significant shift in digital manufacturing for the aeronautics industry.
Market snapshot - 2025-2032
Global Market Size
USD 5.1 billion
Largest Segment
Composites
Fastest Growth
Aluminium Alloys
Growth Rate
9.2% CAGR
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Global Commercial Aircraft Airframe Materials Market is segmented by Material Type, Application Types and region. Based on Material Type, the market is segmented into Aluminium alloys, Titanium alloys, Composites and Steel alloys. Based on Application Types, the market is segmented into Commercial Aircraft, Helicopters, Business & General Aviation and Others. Based on region, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa.
Composite materials are dominating in the global commercial aircraft airframe materials market because of their high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance and fatigue life over time. Their application for fuselage, wing and empennage structures has experienced unprecedented demand, especially in wide-body and next-generation narrow-body aircraft. Premium original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are applying composites to up to half the structural weight of an aircraft, therefore improving fuel efficiency and decreasing maintenance requirements. Additionally, composite ability to be blended with today's aerodynamics, makes the market favour sustainable. As airlines seek aircraft that guarantee high performance and environmental responsibility, composites are becoming unmatched in structural design and long-term operational plans.
Aluminium alloys though traditional are the fastest growing segment in the global commercial aircraft airframe materials market, because of their balanced performance and lower cost, compared to composites and titanium. Their widespread use in narrow body aircraft, and regional jets especially ones purchased in high volume for short hops, has driven that growth. Further, improvements in higher strength aluminium grades are making them more popular.
Narrow body jets are dominating the segment in the global commercial aircraft airframe materials market, consumption based on high production rates and growing demand in short to medium range flights. The aircraft make use of balanced amounts of conventional and advanced materials, as manufacturers aim at minimizing weight, cost and maintenance needs. As airlines expand domestic operations and low-cost carrier operations, narrow body fleet demand rises hence enhancing segment leadership of the jets. OEMs also tend towards more modular designs and hybrid material usage to meet performance needs at lowest competitive airframe costs. High replacement aircraft and backlog orders, also drive material demand in the segment.
Wide body aircraft are the fastest growing segment in the global commercial aircraft airframe materials industry, with international routes picking up steam, where new aircraft designs prioritizing performance and sustainability. The growth of this segment is being spurred by the greater employment of light materials, with composites and titanium being instrumental in achieving long range endurance, fuel economy and load carrying requirements. Further, enhanced cabin comfort, longer service life, and noise emission reduction provide other dynamics supporting airframe innovations in this segment.
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North America's market leadership is rooted in the global commercial aircraft airframe materials industry as it is home to top OEMs (like Boeing), and a strong cluster of suppliers and research facilities. Industry and government fund R&D in lightweight alloys and composites adequately. For instance, in 2025 the U.S. launched the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Centre (AAMMC) Tech Hub to purchase a record sized thermoplastic composite press and develop high-rate manufacturing. Along with massive carrier fleets, and ambitious fuel-efficiency targets, these all solidify North America's position as the airframe materials leader.
The United States dominates the North America commercial aircraft airframe materials market with Boeing technology and ongoing R&D investment. Boeing 787 Dreamliner composite fuselage and wings is the model of U.S. emphasis on advanced materials. Driven by a shared goal to strengthen aerospace innovation, public and private collaborations continue to advance composite manufacturing. In 2025, The AAMMC Tech Hub initiated the installation of the world's most extensive aerospace component composite press during 2025. Such projects illustrate the U.S. investment in high-rate production of carbon-fibre parts and solidify its leadership as North America's largest commercial aircraft airframe materials market.
Canada is contributing through expert composite manufacturing in North America, commercial aircraft airframe materials market. Airbus Atlantic’s operations in Mirabel, Quebec specializes in producing the front and rear fuselage sections for the Airbus A220, and it also manufactures the centre fuselage component for Bombardier Global 7500 business jet. In 2024, the plant increased its production and staff to support increasing A220 production. These developments solidify Canada global leadership position in composite manufacturing, and integration in the North American supply base, enabling the region to maintain its strong market position.
Asia Pacific's market is growing most quickly in commercial aircraft airframe materials market, because of booming air travel and manufacturing expansion. The rapid increase of airplane orders from airlines based in China, India, and Southeast Asia creates a high demand for composite materials used in fuselage and wing production. Regional original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers are working with local manufacturers in China and India to establish new production lines for carbon-fibre components. Government backed aerospace programs in Japan, Korea, India, etc. are expanding capacity too. This combination of booming demand and growing infrastructure is why Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in the commercial aircraft airframe materials market.
Japan dominates the Asia Pacific commercial aircraft airframe materials market by providing high-tech airframe parts. The companies in Japan like Mitsubishi Heavy, Kawasaki, Subaru, supplies significant quantities of Boeing airframes, for e.g. significant amounts of the Boeing 787 wing and fuselage structure. In 2024, Airbus opened a new "Tech Hub" in Tokyo to work with leading edge materials and decarbonization technologies. Those endeavours as well as government funded aerospace initiatives keep pushing Japan forward, with composite and alloy technology for commercial aircraft.
South Korea has recently attained improved positions in the commercial aircraft airframe materials market manufacturing world. In 2024 Korean Air Aerospace was awarded a contract by Boeing to supply extra fuselage and wing structures, including carbon-fibre skins for several Boeing models thereby demonstrating its proficiency in high-tech composites. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) on the other hand has extended its production contract for Boeing 737 MAX tail assemblies through the late 2020s. These contracts reveal Korea's increasing competency in advanced composite manufacturing and integration into prime commercial airframe programs.
European aerospace industry led by Airbus and its allies continues to lead the way in commercial aircraft airframe materials market innovations. The sector has Airbus primary factories, and research and development centres in France and Germany, which are at the forefront of developing new manufacturing technologies. In 2024, Airbus ordered a record-breaking thermoplastic composite press at its German Bremen factory to enable greater production of fuselage, and wing components. Europe is also committed to investment in emerging technologies. For instance, Airbus launched a hydrogen aircraft research centre in Stade, Germany to develop composite cryogenic fuel tanks. Through these initiatives coupled with Europe strong environmentalist agenda, European producers are influencing global trends toward lighter more environmentally friendly materials for airframes.
Germany dominates the commercial aircraft airframe materials market in Europe. Airbus has just inaugurated the largest thermoplastic composite press in the world at its Bremen aerostructures plant to allow more efficient manufacturing of wide wing, and fuselage sections. Airbus also opened a ZERO research centre in Stade namely Lower Saxony in 2024, to develop composite systems for storing cryogenic hydrogen. The Germany leadership in the next generation of lightweight structures and green aviation fuel the market.
France Airbus Atlantic composite divisions are the focal point of airframe production. French facilities at Méaulte and Nantes produce major aerostructures e.g. parts of the A350 nose and A220 aft fuselage are manufactured there. In early 2024 Airbus Atlantic released a glass and quartz-fibre composite radar dome design manufactured in its Nantes technocenter. Combined with France research for e.g. on composite engine nacelles, these activities reflect France participation in high-performance lightweight aircraft materials.
Italy is strengthening aerospace industry presence through Leonardo and its involvement in research and development of composite materials. In 2025, Leonardo initiated the expansion of its Grottaglie facility, which manufactures sections of the Boeing 787 fuselage using carbon-fibre reinforced composites. The site is also a key site for prototyping future fuselage structures. Italy focuses on automation and green materials and is helping Italy stay on track with European Union goals for cleaner aviation production.
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Fuel Efficiency Imperatives
Advanced Composite Materials
High Production Costs
Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
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Commercial aircraft airframe materials market is driven by a combination of incumbent market players and new age startups, both of which are impacting material science and manufacturing. Incumbent market players like Boeing and Airbus are leveraging their experience to develop innovative materials. Boeing introduced a fresh carbon-fiber composite for the 777X aircraft in 2025 that achieved both weight reduction and 20% enhanced structural stiffness. Airbus collaborated with Safran to create environmentally friendly aluminium-lithium alloys for its A320neo through this strategic partnership which supports worldwide sustainability objective.
Emerging Startups are also becoming very relevant focusing on disruptive technology and providing low-cost solutions. AeroMat Innovations and TitanTech Solutions are at the forefront of AI-aided material design, and advanced titanium alloys. Startups, especially early ones, disrupt the traditional players with novel materials and better performance with lower costs tied to them. The competition is also fueled by formal strategic relationships between traditional players, and Startups and a commitment to innovation and sustainability throughout the industry.
SkyQuest’s ABIRAW (Advanced Business Intelligence, Research & Analysis Wing) is our Business Information Services team that Collects, Collates, Correlates, and Analyses the Data collected by means of Primary Exploratory Research backed by robust Secondary Desk research.
As per SkyQuest analysis, the commercial aircraft airframe materials market is changing very rapidly, with growing demands for fuel efficiency as the critical driving factor. Even with this complexity and high production cost of advanced materials, they are facing critical challenges. North America is still the market leader in the global market, with the support of major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and strong composite infrastructure. Composite materials have the biggest commercial aircraft airframe materials market share, due to their favourable lightweight performance. Moreover, thermoplastic composite development and additive manufacturing are playing a critical role in reshaping high-rate production capability, and material design flexibility across the aviation sector.
Report Metric | Details |
---|---|
Market size value in 2023 | USD 5.1 billion |
Market size value in 2032 | USD 11.26 billion |
Growth Rate | 9.2% |
Base year | 2024 |
Forecast period | 2025-2032 |
Forecast Unit (Value) | USD Billion |
Segments covered |
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Regions covered | North America (US, Canada), Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Rest of Latin America), Middle East & Africa (South Africa, GCC Countries, Rest of MEA) |
Companies covered |
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Table Of Content
Executive Summary
Market overview
Parent Market Analysis
Market overview
Market size
KEY MARKET INSIGHTS
COVID IMPACT
MARKET DYNAMICS & OUTLOOK
Market Size by Region
KEY COMPANY PROFILES
Methodology
For the Commercial Aircraft Airframe Materials Market, our research methodology involved a mixture of primary and secondary data sources. Key steps involved in the research process are listed below:
1. Information Procurement: This stage involved the procurement of Market data or related information via primary and secondary sources. The various secondary sources used included various company websites, annual reports, trade databases, and paid databases such as Hoover's, Bloomberg Business, Factiva, and Avention. Our team did 45 primary interactions Globally which included several stakeholders such as manufacturers, customers, key opinion leaders, etc. Overall, information procurement was one of the most extensive stages in our research process.
2. Information Analysis: This step involved triangulation of data through bottom-up and top-down approaches to estimate and validate the total size and future estimate of the Commercial Aircraft Airframe Materials Market.
3. Report Formulation: The final step entailed the placement of data points in appropriate Market spaces in an attempt to deduce viable conclusions.
4. Validation & Publishing: Validation is the most important step in the process. Validation & re-validation via an intricately designed process helped us finalize data points to be used for final calculations. The final Market estimates and forecasts were then aligned and sent to our panel of industry experts for validation of data. Once the validation was done the report was sent to our Quality Assurance team to ensure adherence to style guides, consistency & design.
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Global Commercial Aircraft Airframe Materials Market size was valued at USD 5.2 billion in 2023 and is poised to grow from USD 5.6 billion in 2024 to USD 10.5 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period (2025-2032).
Commercial aircraft airframe materials market is driven by a combination of incumbent market players and new age startups, both of which are impacting material science and manufacturing. Incumbent market players like Boeing and Airbus are leveraging their experience to develop innovative materials. Boeing introduced a fresh carbon-fiber composite for the 777X aircraft in 2025 that achieved both weight reduction and 20% enhanced structural stiffness. Airbus collaborated with Safran to create environmentally friendly aluminium-lithium alloys for its A320neo through this strategic partnership which supports worldwide sustainability objective. 'Boeing (United States)', 'Airbus (France)', 'Spirit AeroSystems (United States)', 'Hexcel Corporation (United States)', 'Toray Industries Inc. (Japan)', 'Teijin Limited (Japan)', 'Safran S.A. (France)', 'Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (Japan)', 'Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (Japan)', 'GKN Aerospace (United Kingdom)', 'Premium AEROTEC GmbH (Germany)', 'RUAG International Holding AG (Switzerland)', 'Cytec Solvay Group (Belgium)', 'Collins Aerospace (Raytheon Technologies) (United States)', 'Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD) (South Korea)', 'FACC AG (Austria)', 'DuPont (United States)', 'SGL Carbon (Germany)', 'AddiForge AeroTech (United States)', 'Biomimix AeroMaterials (United Kingdom)', 'Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (India)'
Green rules and public demand for cleaner flying are pushing airlines to look for lighter, and more efficient aircraft. Regulators are setting new efficiency benchmarks for future aircraft models by enforcing policies that limit emissions and fuel consumption. Manufacturers respond by bringing in new airframe materials such as advanced carbon composites, that are lighter and less polluting and make the aircraft more efficient.
Rise of Thermoplastic Composites in High-Rate Production: Thermoplastic composites are picking up strong pace as OEMs seek materials, that allow for accelerated production cycles without compromising structural strength. Thermoplastics unlike thermoset composites, allow for reshaping and reprocessing, which is best suited for automation and mass-volume production. In 2024, Airbus investment in thermoplastic processing in Bremen confirmed the trend showing how, sustainability and manufacturability are being combined in future airframe design.
Why does North America Dominate the Commercial Aircraft Airframe Materials Market?
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