Aircraft engine manufacturing is driving demand for nickel, nickel-based superalloys and premium-quality (PQ) titanium products, and requirements will continue to increase as new alloy production capacity is commissioned, attendees at the recent Farnborough International Airshow told Argus.
Engine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) significantly increased deliveries in the first half of 2026, lifting material requirements from melters, casting foundries and forgers.
US-based Aerospace delivered 269 widebody engines in the first half of 2026, up from 222 units a year earlier, while UK OEM Rolls-Royce delivered 157 widebody units, up from 122 a year earlier. On the narrowbody market, CFM International — a joint venture between GE and France's Safran — delivered 1,030 LEAP engines in the same period, from 729 a year prior. Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of US aerospace group RTX, increased deliveries by 15pc in the second quarter, but did not disclose shipment totals.
Constrained original equipment (OE) engine supply and aftermarket capacity has been a well-documented bottleneck over the past two years, but first-half deliveries indicate a shift, attendees said.
Communications from Airbus and Boeing also confirm that engine bottlenecks are easing, except for Airbus' dispute with Pratt & Whitney over geared turbofan deliveries for the A320neo. Boeing expects GEnx engine delays to resolve "this summer", allowing production to rise to 10 jets/month before year end, although seat certification problems persist. Airbus' limit on the A350 also lies inside the cabin, with shortages of lavatories, galleys and linings the main constraint to reaching rate 12 by 2028.
Demand for premium-quality titanium billet, used for engine components, is strong, a distributor told Argus at the airshow. Lead times for PQ billet have increased, with one supplier in June quoting delivery in 3-6 months.
Two producers also reported strong demand for titanium alloy and Inconel 718 fasteners, which are closely tied to OEM build rates.
Further upstream, demand for critical high-temperature alloying elements has surged in the past year, lifting tungsten, rhenium, tantalum, niobium, hafnium and cobalt prices in conjunction with supply tightness.
Alloy capacity expansions to lift material demand
Engine OEMs and specialty alloy producers have made significant investments in the past year — including several announced at Farnborough — to expand melting, casting and forging capacity, or to secure existing supply lines.
Expansions have centred on compressor and turbine discs and blades, where nickel-based superalloys are critical. Alloy producers will require more nickel and alloying elements as they commission and ramp up new capacity from late 2027-30.
Still, alloy producers will need to balance demand for additional capacity between commercial aerospace and competing end-markets, notably defence and industrial gas turbines.
Texas-based ATI is adding a fifth vacuum induction melting furnace in Monroe, North Carolina, which will increase capacity by approximately 8-10pc, or roughly 9,000 t/yr, when it starts up in the second half of 2027.
UK's Doncasters is investing $50mn to build a new superalloy production facility in Auburn, Alabama, the state's commerce department and Doncasters announced at the airshow.
UK-based Special Melted Products (SMP), a subsidiary of Italy's Acciai Speciali Cogne, signed two multi-year contracts with Rolls-Royce worth an estimated $240mn at Farnborough.
SMP signed an agreement with Consarc Engineering for a new 18t VIM furnace, two 20t electro slag remelting furnaces and two 20t vacuum arc remelting furnaces a few weeks before the airshow as part of its Project Vulcan expansions, scheduled for commissioning in 2028. SMP has also acquired a 7,000t forging press from Danieli Group, which is scheduled to start operations next year.
Safran renewed a contract with French specialty metals company Aubert & Duval for the production of CFM Leap engine forged parts. Safran is also commissioning a new 30,000t hydraulic press in Gennevilliers and additional production lines for complex rotating parts in Le Creusot in 2029, and a new turbine casting facility in Rennes next year.
Melrose-owned GKN continues to invest in its foundry business — TPC Components — following its 2025 acquisition, to strengthen in-house superalloy castings production, it said last week.
