Non-Automotive Transportation Revs Up
By Jim Wedding, Bishop & Associates Inc.

In the high-tech world of global connector manufacturers, the word NAT does not mean a small bothersome insect that lives in the ground. NAT is the acronym for the non-automotive transportation connector market. Bishop & Associates has categorized and profiled the NAT market segments as follows:

Commercial Vehicles
Commercial vehicles include medium, medium heavy, and heavy trucks, which are considered Class 3 through Class 8 trucks. Buses and coaches are also included, and are subdivided into two categories: The bus and coach category includes conventional school buses, heavy-duty transit and tour buses, and some larger motor homes. The production forecast for 2007 is approximately 20 million commercial vehicles for this market segment.

Recreational and Off-Road Vehicles
This growing segment of the market encompasses the so-called power sports or off-road vehicles (ATVs, snowmobiles, motorcycles and scooters, personal watercraft, and go-karts), golf carts, and other personal recreational-related vehicles. Small, medium, and large recreational vehicles, such as motor homes, travel trailers, and fifth wheels, complete this segment. The 2007 worldwide production estimates are 40 million vehicles for the motorcycle and scooter segment.

Aviation, Marine, Rail, Off-Road Construction Vehicles, and Farm and Garden Vehicles
The aviation industry includes the major assemblers and sub-assemblers of airframes and finished product for both commercial and private use. The marine segment consists of commercial manufacturers of ocean-going ships, cruise ships, and pleasure boats for both fresh and salt water. The manufacturers of electric and diesel locomotives, rail-cars, and rail-related vehicles are part of the rail market segment.

Construction Vehicles and Farm and Garden
This segment includes the manufacturers of heavy-construction-related vehicles, such as heavy-duty earth-moving equipment, loaders, rock crushers, mobile batch plants, mobile road-pavers, forestry-related vehicles, and other general construction rolling stock. The farm and garden segment includes those manufacturers participating in the build of farm implements that are self-propelled, such as tractors, combines, threshing machines, and smaller farm-related vehicles, such as the John Deere “Mule” and “Gator” small tractors and riding lawn mowers, and golf course maintenance vehicles.

As one can readily see, the world market for non-automotive transportation connectors covers a large variety of products and product markets. Non-automotive transportation end products range from a 50cc motor scooter to a 160,000-ton ocean-going cruise liner. Each of the markets and the specific equipment types in the non-automotive transportation category have been reviewed. It is necessary to note that the methodology of this study was to identify and quantify each of the separate market segments to determine the total global sales demand that drove the connector spend for the products covered in the non-automotive sector. After quantifying and reviewing market forecasts for each individual segment of the non-automotive transportation market, a corresponding connector demand was estimated by connector type.  

A number of the non-automotive transportation products utilize the same major connector families and individual connectors as the automotive market, particularly in commercial vehicles (medium and heavy trucks and buses), construction equipment, farm tractors, and recreational vehicles. The usage of some of these passenger vehicle type connectors also is carried over from the automotive markets into the off-road power sports segment, and in particular, motorcycles and ATVs.

Many of the standard automotive connectors are found also in the construction and farm equipment in the drive train, comfort and convenience, and safety systems paralleling those found in today’s light trucks and autos. There is, however, a number of different and specialized connectors found within all of the NAT market segments. The aviation, marine, and rail markets contain many specialized, ruggedized, and application-specific connectors that are unique to their equipment types. The rolling equipment, airframes, or specialized vehicles found in the aviation, marine, and rail segments also utilize many standard connectors that are found in the other market segments.

Non-Automotive Connector Types
The connector types within the NAT market are profiled by insulator shape, contact size, and application.

Wire connectors are either rectangular or cylindrical in shape and are designed to either interconnect one wiring harness to another (in-line connections) or to connect directly to a component within a vehicle system, e.g. avionics, comfort and convenience, safety, power train, electrical distribution, electric motors, electronic control unit, fuel systems, and braking systems.

• Wire Connectors

• Rectangular Sealed

• Rectangular Unsealed

• Cylindrical Sealed

• Cylindrical Unsealed

• Component Sealed

• Component Unsealed

• In-Line Wiring Connectors

• Terminals

• Ring, Spade and Flag Terminals

• QD or Fast-on Type

• Blade

• Bayonet

• Pin & Socket        

• Conical Pin          

• Lugs or Battery Posts for Power

• Application Specific

• Fiber Optic

• Coaxial Connectors

• RF Connectors

• Terminal Blocks

• Power Distribution Connectors

• Chassis Grounds

NAT Growth Rates and Projections
The historical growth rates, in the non-automotive transportation product markets in the last five years, have averaged approximately 4 percent to 5 percent, and these markets are forecast to continue to be in that same four to five percent compound annual growth range in the next few years. The market will see more growth in the China, Asia/Pacific, and ROW regions, with lower growth in the triad of North America, Europe, and Japan. We expect to see this growth profile mirrored in the connector market with connector sales increasing faster in China, Asia/Pacific, and the ROW regions, as the connector demand in North America, Japan, and Europe decreases.  

The estimated connector shipments for the non-automotive transportation sector in 2007 will approach and quite possibly surpass $1.7 billion. It should be noted that the current definition of this market possibly understates the total dollars expended on non-automotive transportation connectors. Future research and data refinement of this market is expected to add to the total NAT connector market size.

The non-automotive transportation segment of the worldwide connector market has recently been profiled in a new Bishop & Associates’ research report. This report defines and identifies the world non-automotive transportation (NAT) connector market by profiling the three major segments of the global market and by outlining the major product types, connector categories, and connector types, while generating projected annual connector sales forecast for each market segment in the major regions of the world. The forecast also delineates a projected market value for each specific connector category and connector type. For more information, visit ConnectorIndustry.com.

Director Transportation Non-Automotive Jim Wedding is a veteran of more than 24 years in the connector industry. He started his career in manufacturing, then moved into Information Technology and held a number of head positions as the director of information systems/technology with several electronics manufacturers, including Molex Inc. Over the next two decades, Jim held positions as vice president of manufacturing operations for Molex’s automotive and commercial divisions, and spent six years as the president of Molex’s commercial and industrial divisions. Wedding left Molex Inc. to become president and CEO of Sun Microstamping, a privately held manufacturer of automotive, telecom, and consumer electronic connectors, as well as other high-precision automotive stamped and molded components. Most recently, Wedding has worked as an independent consultant for various companies, assisting with long-range strategic planning, operations improvement, lean manufacturing, and total quality management.