Market Introduction
North America is the largest aerospace market in the world owing to the presence of military and commercial aircraft manufactures and MRO service providers. Due to the positive outlook toward the adoption of new technologies coupled with the presence of a skilled workforce, favorable economic policies, and high GDP per capita, the North American aerospace industry has flourished. A few of the leading aircraft manufacturers operating in the region are Northrop Grumman, Gulfstream Aerospace, Boing, Textron, Bombardier, and Lockheed Martin. The manufacturers of wheels and suppliers of these aircraft companies have their manufacturing facilities across the region. Each manufacturing facility produces noteworthy volumes of wheels for various aircraft models. This factor is driving the growth of the aircraft wheels market in North America and is projected to offer growth opportunities for the market players during the forecast period. Canadian and US-based airlines, such as Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Air Canada, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, have placed numerous orders for commercial aircraft that are scheduled to be delivered between 2021 and 2025. For instance, Delta Airlines placed an order of 95 A220 aircraft, out of which 12 A220 aircraft were supplied in May 2020 and the rest are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2023. United Airlines is focusing on replacing some of its aging Boeing 767s and 757s with new-generation aircraft, such as Boeing 787 or long-range A321LR. Also, Frontier Airlines has ~175 A320 family aircraft on orders. Such developments and rising orders for commercial aircraft are positively favoring the line fit aircraft wheel businesses in North America and subsequently propelling the growth of the aircraft wheels market.
The US is the worst-hit country in North America. The continuous growth of infected individuals has led the government to impose lockdown across the nation's borders during Q2 and Q3 of 2020. The majority of the manufacturing plants either were temporarily shut or operated with minimum staff; the aircraft OEMs and aircraft components and associated product manufacturers witnessed disruption in supply chain; these are some of the North American countries' critical issues. Since the US has a larger density of aircraft manufacturers and aircraft associated technology and component manufacturers, followed by Canada and Mexico. The outbreak of the virus has severely affected the production of each. The lower number of manufacturing staff has resulted in lesser production quantity. From the aircraft OEM’s perspective, Boeing, the aviation giant in the region, has witnessed a significant fall in orders and production, which is one of the key restraining factors for the aircraft line fit wheels market. Apart from Boeing, several other aircraft OEMs such as Bombardier, Textron, and Gulfstream, among others, also experienced tremors of COVID–19 on their orders and production lines. From the supply side, the region has higher numbers of aircraft wheels market players. The restricted workforce, disruption in the supply chain, and limited volumes of orders have sternly shaken the aircraft wheels market players in the region.
Market Overview and Dynamics
The aircraft wheels market in North America is expected to grow from US$ 603.49 million in 2021 to US$ 906.17 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.0% from 2021 to 2028. Presently, the majority of helicopters wheels are made of metallic light-alloy materials, such as aluminum or magnesium. However, wheels made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) are ~30%–40% less in weight than aluminum or magnesium alloy wheels. CFRP wheels are expected to offer improved corrosion resistance and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) performance. Also, these wheels are stiffer with improved fatigue life, which will extend their life. Manufacturers have already initiated the designing of CFRP-based wheels for rotary wing aircraft. For instance, in January 2021, Carbon Three-Sixty, an aircraft wheels manufacturing company, began to develop CFRP-based wheels for rotary wing aircraft. The company is expected to complete the wheel designing in the next 18 months. These composite wheels will also be interchangeable with existing wheels to make them suitable for retrofit applications. Hence, with the introduction of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic-based wheels in rotary wing aircraft, the market is expected to flourish further in the coming years with an opportunity to penetrate the rotary wing aircraft wheels.
Key Market Segments
In terms of type, the main wheel segment held a larger share in 2020. Based on aircraft type, fixed wing aircraft segment held the largest share in 2020. Based on fit type, retro fit segment held the largest share in 2020. Based on end-user, commercial segment held the largest share in 2020
Major Sources and Companies Listed
A few major primary and secondary sources referred to for preparing this report on the aircraft wheels market in North America are company websites, annual reports, financial reports, national government documents, and statistical database, among others. Major companies listed in the report are Collins Aerospace; Meggitt PLC; Honeywell International Inc.; Parker Hannifin Corporation; BERINGER AERO; Lufthansa Technik; Grove Aircraft Landing Gear System Inc.; MATCO Manufacturing Inc.; and NMG Aerospace among others.
Reasons to buy report
North America Aircraft Wheels Market Segmentation
North America Aircraft wheels Market – By Type
North America Aircraft Wheels Market – By Aircraft Type
North America Aircraft Wheels Market – By Fit Type
North America Aircraft Wheels Market – By End-user
North America Aircraft Wheels Market – By Country
North America Aircraft wheels market – Companies Mentioned