Through 2012, the US market for gaskets and seals is expected to expand 2.7 percent per year (including price increases) to $8.7 billion, an improvement over sales performance during the 1997-2007 period as a whole. Demand will be fueled by a rebound in motor vehicle production, as well as by solid increases in machinery shipments and capital spending. Rising demand for more expensive sealing products made from advanced materials will also benefit gasket and seal manufacturers. As is often the case, however, increased use of better performing products will have a mixed effect over time, as initial value gains will tend to be offset by longer useful lives, decreasing aftermarket sales.

Expanded graphite gaskets, plastic gaskets and body seals will post the most rapid sales increases among individual products. Expanded graphite and plastic gaskets will continue to supplant more traditional gasketing material because of their improved performance characteristics, and both product types will benefit from an improved motor vehicle industry outlook. Body seal demand will also be spurred by a rebound in motor vehicle production, as well as by healthy increases in aerospace equipment and construction machinery shipments.

Motor vehicle, machinery markets to offer strongest growth opportunities

Aerospace demand for gaskets and seals is forecast to grow the most rapidly of any major market through 2012. Growth will be driven by increased spending on military aircraft due to the ongoing war on terror and from rising civil aircraft production levels. Based on their much larger size, the motor vehicle and machinery markets will provide greater sales opportunities for gasket and seal makers than the faster growing aerospace equipment market. Increases in motor vehicle production, as well as in the number of motor vehicles in use, will support associated gasket and seal sales advances. A move toward the use of higher-end sealing products in the motor vehicle market will also contribute to future value gains. Continued growth in capital spending and a large aftermarket created by harsh operating environments will bolster machinery gasket and seal demand. Original equipment manufacturing (OEM) applications account for nearly two-thirds of all gasket and seal demand.

However, this ratio varies widely on an industry-by-industry basis. In both aerospace and machinery applications, aftermarket demand was larger than its OEM counterpart in 2007. In contrast, OEM demand made up just 28 percent of all electric and electronic product gasket and seal demand in the same year.

Study coverage

This new industry study, Gaskets and Seals, presents historical supply and demand data (1997, 2002 and 2007) plus forecasts for 2012 and 2017 by product type (seal and packing, gasket) and market. In addition, the study considers market environment factors, evaluates company market share and profiles 33 competitors in the US industry.