MARKETS Autos Take M o r e Synthetics Foam rubber, vinyls, and nylon slov/ly displace cotton and animal Fib ers; Use of acrylics small YnSTYL HAS A T T A I N E D T H E
EMINENCE
of a leading material in automobile upholstery, a field formerly dominated b y cotton and animal fibers. Cotton is still important, but it appears to b e losing ground, grudgingly perhaps, while synthetics and foam rubber are forging ahead. A survey conducted at five-year in tervals b y the U. S. Department of Agriculture provides data on materials entering automobile interiors. Results of the latest study for 1955 are replete -with surprises. Of t h e total 383,824,508 pounds con sumed by passenger cars in 1955, cotton accounted for 210,623,188 pounds; foam rubber for nearly 58 mil lion pounds; vinyl close to 5 0 million pounds; and nylon about 7 million pounds. Diisocyanate foams are in cluded in t h e total for rubber foam, which probably makes up the bulk of foam materials used. Cost or the isocyanate foams at survey time was high, and the auto industry is emphatically cost-conscious. • Foam Rubber a n d Nylon. While cotton has been losing ground, the share of other materials in auto b o d y construction has been growing. F o a m rubber, which had a 12% share of the total in 1950, is up to 1 5 % in the latest survey. Nylon has improved from 1% to 2 % , while the percentage of rayon on a rising volume has remained at around 3 % . S o m e years ago the chemical in dustry entertained the hope that other synthetic chemical materials like Dacron, Orion, and saran would move into a dominant position in this busi ness. However, the new government study reveals that the share in each case is less than 1%. T h e newer synthetics, of course, may do better in the years ahead. They were hardly wetting their feet between 1950 and 1955. Vinyl and nylon pre dominate in 1957 car interiors, in the low priced "Big Three" as well as in the m e d i u m and high-priced cars. • Brighter Colors Expected. I n u p holstery materials (covering for seat backs and seat cushions) t h e poundage total was 70 million, of which 4 0 % , against 4 % in 1950, was vinyl. T h e big loser in this category is wool, which 88
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dropped all the way from a 5 1 % share to only 1 % . Cotton's share rose from 11 to 2 8 % , and nylon's from 9 t o 109b of t h e total. Manufacturing executives seek υρholstery w h i c h wears well, resists dirt and cleans easily, and has fast colors And most of them predicted a trend toward brighter and m o r e intense colors, as well as to flat-woven fabrics. Materials entering interior sidewall covering reached 36,173,064 pounds. Of this, 5 0 % was cotton and 427© vinyl, two thirds of the cotton serving as backing for vinyl. Two thirds ol the executives preferred vinyl, either cotton-backed or combined with, some other material. About 15%> specified cotton blends, 6% leather, and 39fc nylon and wool. • Effect of Pastel S h a d e s . Headlin ing (in ceiling of car interior) called
for a total of 14,995,196 p o u n d s of ma terial. Some 7 6 % was cotton, 1 4 % vinyl, a n d 99c p a p e r . In 1950 cotton supplied 9 6 % of the material for this purpose. Cleanability has b e c o m e im portant in headlining because of t h e greater use of light pastels. Vinyls are less suited t o headlining since they d o not absorb noise. Manufacture of convertible tops has declined with t h e rise in popularity of hard-top convertibles. T h e amount of material used per car also h a s dropped —from 17.3 pounds to 14.3 p o u n d s . An estimated 4 3 % of the 2,829,559 p o u n d s going into convertible tops w a s cotton; 12% vinyl; 8% jute; 1 % rayon; 1% orlon; a n d 3 5 % latex or Butyl, which is used for bonding. T h e industry is not happy, however, with a n y of these top materials. Orlons m a d e the best appearance b u t were h a r d to keep clean. • Foam R u b b e r P r e f e r r e d . For seat cushions a n d back p a d d i n g t h e in dustry used 257,988,504 pounds, of which 6 1 % was cotton; 2 2 % foam rubber; 9 % jute; and t h e rest sisal, vinyl, nylon, and rayon. Resiliency is the most important factor in seat pad ding, a n d most companies would pre fer foam rubber if costs w e r e not to be considered. About 180 million pounds were used for sound insulation, with 6 to 7 % for thermal insulation.
"•ttiMthetlcifibersrOefriLorgër Share o f Auto Market* Quantity of Materials Used ïn 1 9 5 5 i Passenger Cars, Millions of Pounds
COTTON FOAM RUBBER VINYL
IUTE RAYON & ACETATE
SISAL BURLAP M L OTHERS
«Includes hair, p a p e r , w o o l , miscellaneous. ' U S. Dept of Agriculture
