Market Overview
Worldwide, there has been tremendous growth in the electronics industry which is characterized by introduction of innovative and advanced electronic products. This has necessitated the need for development of substrates which are portable, efficient and are not bulky. Flexible substrate is an extremely-thin and light base components over which electronic devices are positioned during the assembling of electronic circuits which helped in the fabrication of flexible electronic products which are highly light weight in nature.
On the basis of type, the flexible substrate market is categorized into metal, glass, and plastic. Plastic flexible substrate is further categorized into pet, polyimide, and others. Among all the types, plastic type accounted for largest contribution in the market. Moreover, this segment is also expected to exhibit highest CAGR over the forecast period which is largely driven by rising demand low-cost substrate solutions in order to bring down the overall cost of electronic products.
Based on application, the flexible substrate market is divided into consumer electronics, solar energy, medical and healthcare, aerospace and defense, and others. Among all the applications, consumer electronics accounted for highest share in the flexible substrate market in 2017. This demand for substrates is also expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to fast growing demand for consumer electronic products in which flexible substrate are widely used in the manufacturing display and other electronics devices.
Market Dynamics
Growth drivers
Printed electronics technologies which are used to design electrical devices on various substrates, is a key driver for the growth of flexible substrate market. The increasing demand of OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) which are made up of carbon-based organic materials and emits light on applying electricity, are boosting the growth of the flexible substrate market. These OLEDs are used to make white light panels and to create visually appealing and efficient displays. The growth opportunity for this flexible substrate market lies in increasing adoption of organic electronics-based IC designing methods for non-invasive monitoring and development of flexible medical devices.
Restraints
The major restraint identified in the flexible substrate market is the high manufacturing cost as well as high raw material cost of certain substrates. The high production cost of substrates exhibiting higher temperature resistance is quite high which limit the scope of their applications, thus restricting the growth prospects of the flexible substrate market.
Opportunities
Major opportunities identified in the flexible substrate market is the growing demand for product from fast growing developing regions. Countries such as China, India, and Brazil are among the fastest growing market for the consumer electronics. Moreover, these countries have also set out ambitious renewable power capacity addition targets particularly in solar power.
Furthermore, a large number of APAC nations are strengthening their aerospace and defense industries in order to gain global strategic and political gains. All the above-mentioned industries are the key end use industries in the flexible substrate market which require this substance during their production process. The fast-growing end use industries for is expected to offer ample growth opportunities in the APAC region.
Insights by geography
Flexible substrate market is highly dependent the demand for these substrates for producing electronic products. Owing to the fast growing adoption rate of new and advanced electronic products, the flexible substrate market is also expected to witness significant boost in the North American region. Moreover, the growth in the manufacturing facilities of electronic products along with the availability of skilled and low-cost labour in APAC will result in highest growth rate during the forecast period. In APAC, countries such as India, China, and Japan will trigger growth of flexible substrate market due to the enhancing technological developments in these countries.
Competitive Landscape
Some of the major players operating in the global flexible substrate market are Dupont Teijin Films, Kolon Industries Inc., Polyonics Inc., American Semiconductor Inc., Corning Incorporated, Heraeus Group, I-Components Co. Ltd., Nippon Electric Glass Co. Ltd., SCHOTT AG, and 3M.
