Textile Composites Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Global Textile Composites Market Trends and Insights

Rising Demand in Commercial and Military Aerospace Programs

Composite content in next-generation airframes accelerates as automated fiber placement cuts wing assembly hours by 30% on Boeing’s 777-8F while retaining 90,000-cycle fatigue life^{[1]Boeing Engineering Group, “777-8F Composite Wing Automation,” boeing.com}. Airbus targets thermoplastic stringers for its future single-aisle jet, shifting from rivets to welds and shortening final-assembly flow. Defense jets entrench the pull-through; the F-35 program validates radar-transparent laminates that sustain 9-G loads and carrier-deck shocks, cementing multi-decade demand stability. Long certification cycles mean every design freeze locks in tonnage for 20 years, granting fiber suppliers forecast visibility. As passenger travel normalizes, the backlog shields composite consumption even when macro cycles soften aluminum demand.

Light-Weighting Push in Automotive and High-Performance EV Platforms

EV range sensitivity converts each kilogram saved into direct battery cost relief. BMW’s 2024 iX Carbon Cage trimmed 150 kilograms and delivered a 15 kilometer WLTP range gain while meeting side-impact standards.. Yet mass-market programs temper adoption because carbon still costs 5 times stamped steel. Mercedes-Benz selectively reinforces roof rails and rear bulkheads but keeps primary crash zones metallic to exploit controlled deformation. Ultra-luxury sports cars emphasize stiffness over sheer mass; Porsche’s 911 GT3 RS leveraged carbon fenders principally for aerodynamic stability. Break-even shifts closer as battery density approaches 300 Wh/kg, making material premium bearable versus a fourth module.

Capacity Additions in Global Wind-Blade Production

Offshore turbines above 15 MW depend on carbon spar caps to survive 107-meter blade loads on GE’s Haliade-X platform. TPI Composites built 601 blade sets in Q3 2024 yet suffered margin squeeze from protracted resin-infusion cycles. Exel’s pultrusion line in India offers 40% cost relief, pressuring European factories to automate or relocate. Research into thermoplastic roots enabling bolted joints could slash field repair time, further enhancing carbon’s value proposition as maintenance OPEX outweighs CAPEX.

Urban Air-Mobility (eVTOL) Structures Adoption

Joby Aviation’s all-composite eVTOL gained FAA Part 135 authority in 2025, showing Toray’s T1100G can meet damage tolerance without hand lay-up. XTI employs resin-transfer molding to hold 0.3 millimeter tolerances on ducted-fan nacelles, a precision once exclusive to Formula 1. Because hover endurance scales 1.5 minutes per kilogram, OEMs willingly pay USD 80 per kilogram for prepreg, double wide-body spending norms. Regulators now accept 70% residual strength after impact rather than “no-damage-visible,” collapsing test timelines, and de-risking entry-into-service by two years.

Brittle Failure and Low Impact Resistance Versus Metals

Small-overlap crash tests demand controlled buckling, a mechanism composites cannot match without 20-30% mass penalties. Invisible delaminations cut residual strength by up to 40% and force costly ultrasonic inspections that sheet metal ignores. Repair economics also hinder uptake; a damaged carbon door typically requires USD 2,500 replacement versus USD 400 steel panel dent-out, inflating fleet insurance premiums. Aerospace tolerates the trade-off because loads trend tensile, but ground vehicles face omnidirectional impacts that expose composite brittleness.

High Material and Processing Costs for Medium-Volume Applications

Resin-transfer molding lands near EUR 40 per kilogram landed cost, fivefold aluminum die-casting. Tool life favors metals: a carbon hood tool wears after 50,000 shots compared with 2 million for stamping dies, resulting in USD 3.00 versus USD 0.15 per-unit amortization. Even next-generation presses eject parts in 90 seconds, well behind 6-second steel strokes, requiring fifteen composite cells to match one metal press. Until cycle times halve, composites will focus on aerospace, racing, and ultra-premium trim where price elasticity is minimal.

Segment Analysis

By Fiber Type: Carbon Extends Lead, Glass Guards Cost-Critical Niches

Carbon fiber contributed 35.07% of 2025 revenue and is projected to advance at 9.35% annually to 2031, adding almost 8 percentage points of textile composites market share through expanded aerospace wings and offshore blades. Toray’s 700 GPa T1100G lets designers cut wing-skin ply counts 15% without sacrificing bird-strike resilience, paring recurring material cost by USD 120 000 per twin-aisle jet. Glass fiber still accounts for the bulk tonnage in wind, marine, and tanks because sub-USD 3 per kilogram pricing overwhelms stiffness deficits; however, epoxy shifts prompted by styrene restrictions are eroding its cost moat in boats and recreational vehicles. Aramid holds a considerable value due to unrivaled heat resistance in ballistic and re-entry shields, with a U.S. critical-material designation spurring domestic capacity incentives^{[2]U.S. Department of Defense, “Critical Materials List 2024,” defense.gov}. Natural flax and basalt inch toward the EU interior.

Aerospace shift to carbon standard-modulus variants has concentrated supply risk; Toray, Teijin, and Mitsubishi Chemical provide 65% of aerospace-grade volume, prompting Boeing and Airbus to qualify Chinese producer Weihai Guangwei by 2026 to hedge geopolitical disruption. Glass fiber’s marine demand faces the International Maritime Organization’s looming 2028 styrene cap, likely propelling epoxy substitution and nudging prices upward. Natural-fiber recyclability aligns with EU End-of-Life rules, yet moisture-ingress testing protocols still marginalize their structural ambitions.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End-User Industry: Aerospace Dominates, Industrial Hydrogen Tanks Accelerate

Aerospace and defense commanded 46.35% of textile composites revenue in 2025 and will expand at an 8.17% CAGR, maintaining primacy in the textile composites market. The textile composites market size for aerospace alone is projected to reach USD 23 billion by 2031. Wide-body fuselages, stealth bombers, and growing drone fleets secure multi-decade contracts insulated from consumer cycles. Marine yachts exploit corrosion immunity; carbon superstructures on premium yachts sliced topside weight 1,200 kilograms, enhancing roll stability in 3-meter seas.

Sporting goods pay the steepest premiums; a USD 12,000 Specialized SL8 frame uses ultra-high-modulus plies to cut frame mass to 700 grams, showing discretionary buyers will pay USD 1,700 per saved kilogram. Industrial wind blades stay cost-anchored, but impending 120-meter designs require carbon caps, nudging glass out of spar segments by 2027. Collectively, end-user diversification reduces cyclicality; when airliner rates dip, wind and hydrogen projects prop up throughput, smoothing the revenue curve for converters.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific captured 54.45% of 2025 sales and is forecast to compound at 8.34% to 2031, retaining the largest regional node of the textile composites market. Chinese producers like Jiangsu Hengshen add 12 000-ton lines, positioning the country to supply 40% of aerospace-grade fiber by 2028, albeit amid intellectual-property and export-control frictions. Japan’s incumbents still wield 48% of high-modulus capacity through long-term Boeing and Airbus contracts, but discounted Chinese standard-modulus threatens low-end share. South Korea pivots toward aramid and UHMWPE for defense contracts in Southeast Asia. India’s government-backed incentives subsidize 25% of capex for advanced-material plants, spurring Exel’s pultrusion exports to regional turbine OEMs.

Robust defense budgets and offshore wind blade factories along the Gulf Coast drive north America market growth. Hexcel’s USD 417 million Q3 2024 turnover hinged on F-35 and 787 builds but flagged potential 2025 softness if Boeing cuts rates. TPI’s U.S. blade sites ran at 68% utilization due to permitting delays, yet the Inflation Reduction Act’s domestic content bonuses could revive orders post-2026. Canada’s Montreal cluster battles labor costs as composite technicians earn CAD 45 per hour, prompting shift of low-critical parts to Mexico.

Europe accounts for a considerable market size owing to the established automotive industry. German automakers use selective carbon reinforcements where 3-times material premiums still yield return on range. Airbus’s thermoplastic stringer pivot strains local PEEK resin supply, and failure to scale beyond 500 tons could push program entry into service beyond 2030. Siemens Gamesa blades in Denmark and Spain will migrate to carbon for 120-meter rotor designs, adding EUR 200 million annual fiber demand. South America and the Middle East-Africa are witnessing growing demand for textile composites, with Brazil’s Embraer composite empennages and Saudi Arabia’s NEOM ordering GFRP rebar; yet both hinge on policy follow-through and supply-chain build-out.