With the accelerated transformation of global manufacturing towards high-end and intelligent development, bearings, as core mechanical basic components, have shown a diversified growth trend in market demand. Reporters learned from the recently held 2026 China Bearing Industry Development Forum that segmented categories such as Stainless steel bearing and
Deep groove ball bearing have continuously increased their penetration rate in automotive, food machinery, new energy and other fields by virtue of their excellent performance, and the industry is ushering in a new round of structural development opportunities.
The growth driver of the bearing industry mainly comes from the upgrading demand of downstream application fields. Among them, Stainless steel bearing has become the preferred product for special working conditions such as food processing, chemical industry and marine engineering due to its excellent corrosion resistance and wear resistance. According to industry data, the global Stainless steel bearing market size increased by 12.3% year-on-year in 2025. Through material upgrading and process innovation, domestic leading enterprises have realized large-scale production of bearings made of 304/316L materials, and some product performances have reached the international advanced level, breaking the monopoly of foreign brands in the high-end market.
As a core category in the bearing family,
Ball bearing is widely used in various mechanical transmission systems due to its advantages of low friction and high speed. As the mainstream product of Ball bearing, Deep groove ball bearing covers the full-scenario needs from micro motors to heavy equipment with its characteristics of simple structure, high reliability and strong adaptability. In the field of new energy vehicles, Deep groove ball bearing is widely used in key components such as motors and gearboxes. By optimizing channel design and precision control, domestic enterprises have achieved stable supply of P5 grade and above high-precision products, meeting the strict requirements of new energy vehicles for efficient transmission and low-noise operation.
With the prominent trend of personalized customization in manufacturing, the Non-standard bearing market has ushered in a period of rapid development. More and more equipment manufacturers need customized bearing solutions to enhance product competitiveness, including special size, special material, special working condition adaptation and other needs. By building a flexible production system, domestic small and medium-sized enterprises have realized the rapid response and delivery of Non-standard bearing. The customization cycle of some enterprises has been shortened to within 72 hours, occupying a share in the segmented market with differentiated competitive advantages.
Small bearing has continuously expanded its application scenarios in emerging fields such as consumer electronics and precision medical devices. With the popularization of smart watches, TWS earphones, surgical robots and other products, higher requirements have been put forward for the dimensional accuracy, noise control and service life of Small bearing. Data shows that the global demand for Small bearing in the wearable device field exceeded 1.2 billion pieces in 2023. By adopting ultra-precision grinding technology and nano-level lubrication technology, domestic enterprises have realized the noise level of Small bearing controlled within the range of 22-28 dB (A), successfully entering the international high-end supply chain.
As a special bearing category,
Water pump bearing plays a key role in automotive cooling systems, industrial water pumps, municipal water supply and drainage and other fields. This type of bearing needs to bear both radial and axial loads, and adapt to humid and high-temperature working environments, so it has extremely high requirements for sealing performance and corrosion resistance. At present, Ball bearing occupies the dominant share in the Water pump bearing market by virtue of its efficient transmission characteristics. By adopting stainless steel materials and advanced sealing technology, domestic enterprises have significantly improved the service life and reliability of Water pump bearing, and its replacement rate in automotive, agricultural, industrial and other fields is constantly increasing.
Industry experts said that in 2026, the global bearing industry will continue to focus on technological innovation and green manufacturing, and core categories such as Stainless steel bearing and Deep groove ball bearing will upgrade towards high precision, long service life and intelligence. Domestic enterprises need to further strengthen material research and development, process optimization and supply chain collaboration capabilities, and achieve higher breakthroughs in the global bearing industry value chain through the dual-wheel drive of "high-end substitution + export expansion". In the future, with the continuous growth of new energy, high-end manufacturing and other fields, diversified bearing products will usher in a broader market space, providing solid support for the high-quality development of manufacturing industry.
