The global demand for bearings will grow by 5.5% a year in the five years to 2010, by which time it will be worth more than $42bn, says a new study. Last year, sales of bearings around the world amounted to $32.4bn.

The US-based market analyst Freedonia says that factors driving this demand include the pickup in world economic growth and increasing manufacturing output.

Sales in developing countries will grow much faster than in Europe, the US or Japan, with China leading the way. In Western Europe, the bearings market is forecast to grow by about 3.1% between 2005 and 2010 — almost twice as fast as it did during the previous five years. But it will still be slowest-growing region in the world, says Freedonia.

Last year, industrial machinery accounted for more than half of the global bearings market and this sector will grow faster than the overall bearings market, spurred by industrialisation in developing countries.

Ball bearings are still the biggest-selling bearing technology, followed by roller bearings. Freedonia expects this pattern to continue.