Global Bearings

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Study Number:: Industry Study 4044
Published Date: from May-2021
Publication Length: 283 Pages

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Bearings

This study analyzes the global bearing industry. Bearing products include:

unmounted ball bearings
unmounted roller bearings
- tapered
- spherical
- needle
- cylindrical
unmounted plain bearings
- journal
- spherical
- thrust and other plain bearings
mounted and combined ball/roller bearings (e.g., flange, hanger, pillow block, take-up)
separately sold bearing parts (including balls, rollers, cages, cups, rings, housing closures, seals, shields, spacers)

Excluded from the scope of this study are:

adaptor and withdrawal sleeves
flexure, fluid, and magnetic bearings
lock nuts and washers
lubricators
retaining plates

Whenever possible, efforts were made to prevent bearing sales from being counted more than once in the numbers presented here, although it is difficult to do because of the structure of the bearing industry. For example, cages manufactured by one company and balls made by another firm might be sold to a third enterprise, which uses these and other components fabricated internally to produce unmounted ball bearings. These bearings might then be sold to a fourth company, which uses them and housing purchased from a fifth firm to assemble mounted ball bearing units, which are then sold to end users. Each of the business transactions by these five enterprises is reported as a bearing product sale. As a result, final sales to bearing users are somewhat different in dollar terms than total bearing company product sales.

In addition, bearing demand is analyzed by market:

machinery, including:
- agricultural equipment
- construction machinery
- material handling equipment
- food and beverage processing machinery
- forestry equipment
- mining machinery
- oil and gas equipment
- industrial equipment
- machine tools
- packaging equipment
- pumps
- utility equipment
motor vehicles (e.g., automobiles; light, medium, and heavy trucks; recreational vehicles; mini-buses and shuttles; all-terrain vehicles; motor coaches and transit buses; vans)
- original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
- aftermarket (MRO)
aerospace (e.g., airplanes, drones, helicopters, rockets, satellites, space vehicles)
motorcycles, including internal combustion engine and electric moped, motorcycles, and scooters
other markets, including:
- appliances
- bicycles
- boats, ships, and other marine equipment
- electronics and electrical equipment
- instruments
- medical products
- military hardware
- railway equipment
- sports equipment
- wind turbines

Historical data (2010, 2015, 2020) and forecasts for 2025 and 2030 are provided for shipments, demand, and net exports of bearings in current US dollars at the manufacturers’ level. Year-by-year historical sales are provided in US dollars and local currency (when applicable) for the major countries discussed in the report.

Demand by Region

Through 2025, global demand for bearings is forecast to expand 5.2% per year to $100 billion. Conditions are expected to improve sharply in all regional bearings markets, following a period of weakness. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 had a profound impact on both industrial output and worldwide bearings sales. All regions recorded losses of varying size between 2015 and 2020. As manufacturing activity begins to recover during the post-pandemic period, demand for bearings will climb at a swift pace.

The Asia/Pacific region – led by China – is projected to account for 61% of all bearing demand through 2025. Central and South America – which experienced severe losses during the 2015-2020 period – is expected to see demand for bearings advance 6.4% per year through 2025. Eastern Europe’s market for bearings is projected to expand 6.2% per year between 2020 and 2025. Western Europe is forecast to see bearings sales growth of 5.0% annually through 2025, after the region posted severe losses between 2015 and 2020.

Sustainability Initiatives

As in most industries, sustainability has become an important issue in the bearings industry, with many manufacturers taking a variety of measures to improve their environmental profile. Such measures include:

reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions during production and shipping activities
developing energy-efficient bearings
using materials with a low environmental impact
targeting renewable energy equipment manufacturers

Many bearing manufacturers have set CO₂reduction goals, including SKF, which intends to curb CO₂emissions in production and shipping by 40% by 2025 compared to 2015 levels.

Demand by Product

Global demand for bearings is projected to increase 5.2% per year between 2020 and 2025 to $100 billion. Gains will be supported by:

post-pandemic improvements in global economies and consumer spending
increasing durable goods manufacturing activity, particularly motor vehicles
rising foreign investment in the manufacturing sectors of Asia/Pacific, Africa/Mideast, Central and South American, and East European countries
the development of new, state-of-the-art bearings technologies and the growing use of more sophisticated bearings in developing nations
increasing bearings prices
the adoption of new, more demand technical standards for bearings used in a variety of applications

Competition from alternative technologies (e.g., fluid and magnetic bearings), together with the ongoing shift from ICE to electric (which require fewer bearings) motor vehicles, will act as constraining factors.

Ball and roller bearings will continue to comprise the largest share of sales in dollar terms, as they are well-established technologies and are necessary in the manufacture of wide range of products. Additionally, these product types are more expensive than plain bearings, which are also used widely around the world.

At the global level, the different bearing product types are projected to have similar growth prospects because:

all of the major types of bearings are used in numerous applications around the world
the various types of bearings tend to see their use in some applications gradually increase over time, while it declines in others (e.g., growing use of plain bearings in electric motor vehicles, increased competition elsewhere)
most of the major end use markets for the various product types were negatively impacted by the economic effects of the pandemic, and will see market conditions improve sharply during the post-pandemic period

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Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 General Trends

COVID-19 & Global Economic Growth

Impact on the Global Bearings Industry

3. Overview

Study Scope

Historical Market Trends

Regional Trends

Supply & Demand Dynamics

Demand by Region

Production by Region

International Trade

Impact of Tariffs

Pricing Trends

4. Factors Impacting Bearing Demand

Materials Competition

Counterfeiting Issues

Technology & Product Innovation

Standards & Regulations

Sustainability Initiatives

5. Products

Demand by Product

Ball Bearings

Product Description