2026 State of the Industry Report

As the new year begins, ACMA continues to deliver timely market intelligence reports, enabling members to evaluate the composites industry's performance and see how their own companies compare. Composites Manufacturing magazine turned to those reports – including quarterly Pulse of the Industry updates and biannual ACMA Industry Statistics Program reports compiled by Vault Consulting LLC, as well as monthly reports from Lucintel – to craft our annual State of the Industry article.

A Look at Market Segments

More than 1.9 billion pounds of glass reinforced polyester/vinyl ester thermoset composites were sold in the U.S. and Canada during the first half of 2025, according to an Industry Statistics Program report published in September. That’s a decrease of 4.1% compared to the same period in 2024. The three market segments representing the largest percentage of overall domestic sales were construction (34%), infrastructure (26%) and transportation (21%).

Throughout 2025, customer demand varied widely across market segments. The infrastructure market experienced the largest decline in expected customer demand, down to 36% in 4Q 2025 compared to 51% in 1Q 2025, according to data from Pulse of the Industry surveys of ACMA members. The transportation market hit its lowest level since the inception of the survey in 2023, with an expected increase in customer demand of just 15% in 4Q 2025.

Conversely, expectations in customer demand for the electrical and electronics market rose to 43% in 4Q 2025, more than 20 percentage points higher than 4Q 2024. The construction market began 2025 on a high note with increased customer demand compared to the previous year, then saw a drop in demand for two straight quarters before rebounding to 27% expected increase in demand in 4Q 2025.

This year, Lucintel expects the strongest growth in wind energy, aerospace and electric vehicle markets. Some of the future high-growth applications include hydrogen pressure vessels, electric vehicle battery enclosures, wind turbine blades, solar photovoltaic frames, composite rebar, eVTOL aircraft, drones and next-generation narrow-body aircraft.

The rise in artificial intelligence and data centers is setting the stage for one of the most promising potential composite markets.

“Artificial intelligence is driving one of the biggest construction waves in modern history,” says Sanjay Mazumdar, CEO of Lucintel. “The global AI data-center market is set to jump from $236 billion in 2025 to over $930 billion by 2030. If composites capture about 1% to 3% of the data center market for meeting needs related to applications in electrical infrastructure, structural components, cooling systems and so on, then the composites parts market could be $10 billion to $30 billion per year in data centers by 2030.” 

Hot Industry Topics

The quarterly Pulse of the Industry surveys asked ACMA members to weigh in on a variety of other issues in the composites industry aside from customer demand. Last year, the survey included two new annual questions. The first asked members how important different economic indicators are to determining growth or decline in industry. Approximately 78% reported that interest rates were extremely or very important to their business, while two-thirds said inflation is an important indicator.

The second question was “How likely is your business to invest in capital expenditures in 2025?” Just over 75% of respondents reported they were likely to invest, with 41% saying they were very likely to do so.

ACMA members identified several other hot topics during the quarterly surveys, such as the following:

Tariffs on Imports – Throughout last year, the perception of the importance of tariffs on imports grew significantly. In 1Q 2025, 71% of survey respondents indicated that tariffs were an extremely or very important issue to their companies. That figure increased to 79% in the second quarter and to 82% in the third and fourth quarters.

Supply Chain Disruptions – Supply chain disruptions continued to be among the top concerns for companies last year. During 1Q 2025, respondents expected that specialized chemical suppliers (21%), fiber suppliers (20%) and resin suppliers (21%) would be most impacted by supply chain disruptions. By 4Q 2025, those estimations had increased for specialized chemical suppliers to 25% and fiber suppliers to 24%, while the expected impact on resin suppliers dipped to 18%.

Workforce Issues – Staffing-related issues also remain a top priority for composites companies. In the most recent Pulse of the Industry report, 77% of those surveyed said that employee retention/turnover and replacing retired talent were extremely or very important. Other key workforce issues that respondents rated as extremely or very important included employee training/skill growth and development and hiring/recruitment/workforce expansion.

Product Lead Time – During 4Q 2025, respondents reported that product lead time was generally stable for most materials, including glass fiber, basalt fiber and core reinforcements, as well as vinyl ester, polyurethane and unsaturated polyester resins. However, companies surveyed perceived greater volatility in product lead time during the past seven quarters for carbon fiber reinforcements, epoxy resins and thermoplastics.

Growth Anticipated in 2026

Overall, Lucintel expects the global composites industry to grow 3% to 4% in 2026.

“Continued demand for composites in transportation, aerospace, wind energy and construction suggests that the industry is poised for growth in 2026 as manufacturers and OEMs increasingly favor advanced materials that improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and enhance product performance,” says Mazumdar.

ACMA members can access full market intelligence reports by logging on to the association’s website. To learn more about becoming a member, contact Peter Hedger at phedger@acmanet.org. For more information on the Pulse of the Industry survey or how to participate, contact Paige Patterson at ppatterson@acmanet.org.

Susan Keen Flynn is managing editor of Composites Manufacturing magazine. Email comments to sflynn@keenconcepts.net.