Global Bearings

Report Overview

14th Edition

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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 CO₂ reduction goals, including SKF, which intends to curb CO₂ emissions 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

Global demand for bearings is projected to grow 5.2% per year to $100 billion in 2025, rebounding from lows in 2020. Sales of bearings will climb rapidly during the post-pandemic period. Growth will be fueled by:

• improving economic conditions around the world and a recovery in global consumer spending (from lows in 2020)
• the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and people
• increasing durable goods manufacturing activity, particularly of 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

However, 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 constrain even larger gains.

The Asia/Pacific Region to Post Largest Gains

Led by China, the Asia/Pacific region is forecast to account for 61% of all new bearing demand between 2020 and 2025. The Asia/Pacific region experienced less severe turmoil in 2020 than many regions, and its recovery is expected to begin at an earlier date because multiple regional countries handled the pandemic effectively. Additionally, the region’s highly competitive durable goods industries have strong growth prospects, and foreign investment in the manufacturing sectors of regional countries (e.g., India, Thailand) will recover at a particularly swift pace during the post-pandemic period. The region also features a developing aerospace equipment industry and is a major supplier of ICE motorcycles, in addition to e-bikes, which have strong growth prospects through 2025.

Automotive & Aerospace Bearing Demand to Grow Rapidly

Global sales of bearings used in aerospace equipment and motor vehicles are projected to grow at a fast rate through 2025, with automobiles in particular offering strong gains (44% of all new product demand). Both industries struggled in 2020 due to restrictions on travel and halting of production due to the pandemic:

• OEM automotive bearing demand will benefit from rebounds in production of automobiles, trucks, buses, and other motor vehicles (e.g., vans), while aftermarket sales will benefit from significant increases in use of motor vehicles by businesses and consumers as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
• In aerospace, advances in the construction of drones, satellites, and rockets, together with the increasing use of more sophisticated aerospace bearings, will provide the impetus for gains. The return of international travel as restrictions imposed in 2020 are lifted will also support gains.

However, a semiconductor shortage will limit motor vehicle production in 2021 in multiple countries around the world (particularly the US), at least in the short term.