Market Outlook:
The global thin section ball bearings market was valued at USD 808.8 Million in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 931.4 Million by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 2.4% during the forecast period. The overall demand for automation and industrial robotic equipment is increasing at rapid pace globally owing to the increased urbanization and industrialization. Increase in the demand from various sectors such as textile, robotic and automotive sectors is expected to drive the thin section ball bearing market growth during the forecast period. Thin section ball bearing plays an important role in the automotive equipment and heavy machinery where the high precision, optimum efficiency and minimum space is required.
Thin section ball bearing provides these benefits by rising the overall market growth. Use of thin section ball bearing in various application helps to reduce space and lower weight by 80%. It decreases the total cost of application due to which it is responsible for driving the market by increasing usage, especially where there is limitation of space and design constraint. Industries face difficulty in execution of complicated designs, therefore, thin section ball bearing is used for easy customization and modification. The loading capacity of thin section ball bearing is more in comparison to conventional ball bearing as it is compact in design and use numerous rolling elements which spreads the load over large area. Thus, it helps in providing multi-load capabilities and high stiffness.
Market Dynamics:
Drivers
The demand for thin section ball bearings has increased owing to the rise in industrial projects in China. Rising number industrial transformation activities have resulted in a significant adoption of robotics and automations among several manufacturing and equipment industries, which in turn, has positively impacted the demand for thin section ball bearing in the country. Additionally, several China-based companies have undertaken several construction projects in countries such as India, which in turn, has boosted the use of several construction equipment increasing the demand for thin section ball bearings to build the necessary equipment.
Additionally, the loading capacity of thin section ball bearing is more than that of conventional ball bearing, as it has a compact design and use of numerous rolling elements, which spreads the load over large area. This, in turn, helps provide multi-load capabilities and high stiffness. Furthermore, in applications where the space is a constraint, thin section ball bearings have greater compatibility and are considered to be a better choice than other conventional angular contact ball bearings. Moreover, the thin section ball bearing can be easily customized and modified; therefore, it used in industries where design is complicated.
Restraints
Thin section ball bearings are usually designed to increase design flexibility with less use of space. However, high costs of thin section ball bearings is considered to be a major factor hindering the growth of the market. Furthermore, rising investments in the overall bearings industry has resulted in technological advancements in other bearings types, which have considerably lower cost than thin section ball bearings.
Opportunities
The use of thin section ball bearings has increased in the past few years. This has resulted in providing optimum results in tight space applications in several industrial, commercial machineries, and equipment. Moreover, substantial rise in the adoption of new technologies for the manufacturing and development of thin section ball bearings is projected to create opportunities in the market during the forecast period. Increasing advancements in the design technologies for thin section ball bearings for several critical applications is anticipated to create lucrative opportunities during the forecast period.
Trends
Significant rise in the adoption of light weight applications has resulted in the rise in usage of thin section ball bearings among several industry verticals. Growing demand of light weight products used in several industrial and commercial machineries and equipment has increased the popularity of thin section ball bearings. Growing popularity of thin section ball bearings is attributed to its ability to be used in critical environments and applications where space is tight, weight must be minimized, and absolute precision must be guaranteed.
Moreover, the use of angular contact thin section ball bearings has increased in the past few decades. Thin section bearings with angular contact designs are used in machinery requiring high accuracy and durability. The angular contact designs based thin section ball bearings are majorly considered among industries such as semiconductor, centrifuges, machine tools spindles, and woodworking spindles. The popularity of these angular contact design bearings among these industries is attributed to the angular contact designs having a higher speed than radial bearings due to the nonstop contact of the balls to both rings.
Segmental Outlook
On the basis of type, the global thin section ball bearings market is bifurcated into open typed, sealed typed, and shielded typed. The open typed segment is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 2.5% during the forecast period due to its capability for relubrication. Thin section bearings require lubrication and a clean environment for a long service life. Open type bearings allow fresh grease to push out the old grease from the bearing along with the contaminants suspended in it. The sealed typed segment is estimated to hold 28.3% share of the market in 2019 as it offers a great protection against the penetration of foreign material, while preventing grease leakage.
Based on applications, the market is segmented into robotics, automation, semiconductor equipment, aerospace and defense, textile, and others. The robotics segment is projected to hold a major share of the market during the forecast period owing to the ability of thin section bearings to take heavy load and can be used under extreme temperatures. Bearings in robotics have demonstrated exponentially improved in resistance, speed, and precision, resulting in the high demand among several industry verticals due to technology advancements. The automation centers segment is expected to grow at a substantial pace due to the adoption of automations among several industry verticals such as medical equipment, printing machinery, packaging machinery, machine tools, and industrial machinery.
On the basis of sales channel, the global thin section ball bearings market is bifurcated into OEMs and aftermarket. The OEMs are projected to hold a large share of the market during the forecast period. NSK, Kaydon bearings, and SKF are some of the major thin section ball bearings manufacturers worldwide. These manufacturers are highly dependent on ball bearing materials distributors to manufacture custom equipment parts, as per the requirement. This, in turn, increases the demand for thin section ball bearing materials distributors.
Regional Outlook
In terms of regions, the market is fragmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Europe is a promising region for the market. The region constituted 30.4% share of the market in 2019. The market in the region is projected to expand at a CAGR of 2.1% during the forecast period. Increasing robotics and automation applications among several nations in the region are driving the thin section ball bearings market in Europe. The market in Asia Pacific is projected to expand at a CAGR of 3.0% owing to the emerging local players in the region.
Key Benefits for Industry Participants & Stakeholders
- In-depth Analysis of the Global Thin Section Ball Bearings Market
- Historical, Current and Projected Market Size in terms of Value
- Potential & Niche Segments and Regions Exhibiting Promising Growth Covered
- Industry Drivers, Restraints and Opportunities Covered in the Study
- Recent Industry Trends and Developments
- Competitive Landscape & Strategies of Key Players
- Neutral Perspective on Global Thin Section Ball Bearings Market Performance
Segments
By Type
- Open Typed
- Sealed Typed
- Shielded Typed
By Application
- Robotics
- Automation
- Semiconductor Equipment
- Aerospace and defense
- Textile
- Others
By Sales Channel
By Region
- North America
- Europe
- Germany
- France
- Italy
- U.K.
- Spain
- Russia
- Rest of Europe
- Asia Pacific
- China
- Japan
- South Korea
- India
- Australia
- South East Asia (SEA)
- Rest of Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Latin America
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Rest of Latin America (LATAM)
- Middle East & Africa (MEA)
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- UAE
- Rest of Middle East & Africa (MEA)
Key Market Players Profiled in the Report
- AEC
- AST Bearings LLC
- CPM S.p.A
- IEC
- New Hampshire Ball Bearings, Inc.
- NSK Ltd.
- NTN Corporation
- RBC Bearings Incorporated.
- Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
- Schatz Bearing Corp.
- Silverthin Bearing Group
- SKF
- The Timken Company
- ZYZ Bearing
Competitive Landscape
- Key players in the market include AEC, AST Bearings LLC, CPM S.p.A, IEC, New Hampshire Ball Bearings, Inc., NSK Ltd., NTN Corporation, RBC Bearings Incorporated., Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG, Schatz Bearing Corp., Silverthin Bearing Group, SKF, The Timken Company, and ZYZ Bearing. These companies are considered manufacturers of Thin Section Ball Bearings based on their revenue, research development (R&D) activities, regional presence, and supply chain management system.
- The players are adopting key strategies such as acquisition, and geographical expansion where potential opportunity for the thin section ball bearings extraction is added in the company’s capacity.