No one notices when brakes work perfectly, so the industry “operates almost entirely out of public view,” says the author of the newly published “The Brake Industry Handbook”

LAS VEGAS – September 8, 2026 – The brake industry is “underappreciated,” according to Brian Hagman. 

As the publisher of three aftermarket trade publications, including one focused exclusively on brakes, and an executive search consultant, he has a unique window into that industry. He’s recently rolled up all the knowledge he’s gleaned over many years and compiled it into the newly published The Brake Industry Handbook.

Some of the facts and statistics he provided that stand out include the following:

• The global brake system market is roughly $25-55 billion annually 
• The market is growing at 4-6% each year
• The industry produces more than 4 billion units (and components) each year

Brakes are also entering an “inflection point,” primarily because in Europe, “brake dust is now a regulated pollutant.”

AAPEX invited Hagman to share a little bit about his new book in a short Q&A; that interview follows below. 

Q1. You recently published a book called The Brake Industry Handbook: An Insider’s Guide to Markets, Technology, and Careers – what inspired you to write the book?

BH: “I wanted to create the resource I wish I had when I started in the brake industry. When I came into this business, there was no single place that explained how it actually works. Engineers can find technical papers. Executives can buy market research reports that cost thousands of dollars. But the practical knowledge – how OE programs really get won, why aftermarket economics look nothing like OE, how careers actually develop, the unwritten rules that take years to learn – none of that existed in one place. You had to accumulate it the slow way, over years.

I’m in an unusual seat. Through Hagman Search I’ve reviewed thousands of résumés from brake industry professionals and sat with hiring managers learning what they actually value. Through The BRAKE Report I’ve covered the industry since 2012 – factory floors on three continents, more brake conferences than I can count. At some point I realized I was sitting on years of accumulated knowledge that would take a newcomer a decade to piece together on their own.”

Q2. If you had to boil the book down to three key takeaways that readers will finish with — what would they be?

BH: “First, this is a much bigger business than people realize. The global brake system market runs $25-55 billion annually depending on how you draw the boundaries, growing 4-6% a year – and it operates almost entirely out of public view. When brakes work perfectly, nobody notices. That invisibility is a point of pride in this industry, but it also means the opportunity here is badly underappreciated.

Second, we’re at a genuine inflection point. Euro 7 is regulating brake dust for the first time, EVs are rewriting how braking energy gets managed, and brake-by-wire is shifting value toward software and electronics. The companies and people who navigate that transition well will shape the next few decades of transportation safety. And third – for anyone building a career here – the technical side is only half the picture. Understanding the business dynamics, and how hiring decisions actually get made, is what separates people who thrive from people who stall. That’s why a third of the book is a career guide.”

Q3. What’s a fact or statistic about the braking industry that might surprise anyone outside the space?

BH: “Global brake pad and friction material production exceeds 4 billion units annually. Four billion. It’s the largest component category in the industry purely because of replacement cycles – every vehicle on the road is slowly consuming its friction material every time it stops.

Here’s another one that catches people off guard: with Euro 7, Europe became the first major market to regulate non-exhaust emissions – meaning brake dust is now a regulated pollutant, with limits around 7 mg/km for most passenger cars. That single regulation is forcing a rethink of friction formulations that had been settled science for decades, and it’s why you’re seeing innovations like brake dust capture systems showing up as standard equipment on some premium models.”

Q4. How did you get into the braking niche?

BH: “I worked at Akebono Brake Corporation from 2004 to 2012, so the industry got into my blood early. When I moved into executive search in 2012, specializing in the brake segment was a natural decision – I knew the companies, the technology, and the people. But as I did my own research on the segment, I kept running into a problem: there was no good source for brake industry news. You had to scour dozens of automotive and commercial vehicle websites just to piece together what was happening. So, I started The BRAKE Report – to connect the industry and give executives and professionals worldwide a single resource.

The two businesses have fed each other ever since. The publishing keeps me current on every technology shift and every company’s trajectory, and the search work shows me what’s happening beneath the press releases. Later I extended the media side with The EV Report and Self Drive News, because electrification and autonomy are the two forces most aggressively reshaping what braking has to become. That dual perspective — publisher and recruiter — is really what made the Handbook possible.”

Q5. Are you attending AAPEX this fall and if so, what are you looking forward to?

BH: “Wouldn’t miss it. AAPEX is one of the best places anywhere to take the pulse of the aftermarket, and this year I’m especially interested in how brake suppliers are positioning around two stories: low-emission and low-dust friction formulations as Euro 7-style requirements start influencing product roadmaps globally, and the continued push of electronics into the brake corner. The aftermarket has always been where brake brands fight hardest for differentiation, so watching how companies message copper-free, low-dust, and EV-specific pad lines on the show floor tells you a lot about where the market is heading.

I’m also looking forward to the conversations that only happen in person. Some of the best material in the Handbook came from hallway conversations at industry events — that part never changes.”

Q6. Anything you’d like to add?

BH: “Just gratitude. The response from the brake community has been the most rewarding part of this project — the foreword from Roy Link of Link Engineering, early praise from people I’ve respected for years, and notes from readers saying the book would have saved them years of trial and error. That’s exactly what it was built to do.”

Where to find the book

The Brake Industry Handbook: An Insider’s Guide to Markets, Technology, and Careers is available on Amazon or your favorite online retailer. 

You can also keep up with the brake industry day-to-day at The Brake Report.

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AAPEX 2026 will be held from Nov. 3–5, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at The Venetian Expo & AAPEX Forum. See the exhibitor prospectus for exhibiting details. Complimentary passes are available to the media; email: [email protected].

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