Media Release by SmarTech
The first calendar quarter of 2022 started off very strong for the additive manufacturing / 3D printing market according to the latest market data released by SmarTech Analysis, growing 27 percent compared to the same period in 2021.
If the additive market can stave off negative effects of inflation and global supply chain disruptions, printers, materials, and services markets could generate more than $12B for the calendar year. However, latest insight reports associated with the recently released SmarTech data indicate that the looming macroeconomic challenges could derail the fast pace of growth observed at the start of the year.
The professional additive manufacturing markets for printers, materials, and print services is now estimated to be around 40 percent larger than it was at the close of the first quarter of 2020, with growth being powered by a favorable combination of factors originating from supply disruptions caused by coronavirus response.
Scott Dunham, SmarTech Analysis EVP Research, commented, “The first quarter of 2022 was historic for the additive industry, with sequential growth continuing in earnest even beyond the rebound of 2021. Utilization of AM technologies is strengthening rapidly all over the world as the supply chain continues to be a challenge. The longer this continues, the better the outcomes for quality AM platforms. However, we should not be quick to dismiss the additive world as being insulated from the macroeconomic challenges of inflation and recession. If costs continue to creep up and are passed on to users, a lot of the work the AM community has done to make these processes more cost effective (and therefore more attractive to manufacturing) may be derailed, slowing growth.”
About the Report
SmarTech’s “Core Metals” and “Core Polymers” market data products include historical quarterly data and provide 10-year forward forecasts. Quarterly reports on the metal and polymer AM markets are available as a one-time or subscription purchase via SmarTech’s website and are customizable as needed. For more information on stand alone reports or ongoing subscription services for the additive market, go to: https://www.smartechanalysis.com/data-service.
From the Report:
- Some key differences should be highlighted in today’s additive market versus the past –after all, the value proposition for the technologies is largely unchanged, yet the appetite in the market appears to have grown significantly. SmarTech is not seeing the typical cycle of new ”developmental” AM platform growth, where a new series of products or new technology boosts hardware revenue growth largely due to the purchase of machines for evaluation and research (a cycle which then dies back down shortly after). Instead, SmarTech notes an increase in both hardware sales and the utilization of AM hardware to build value.
- In the past when market conditions have incented adoption of AM, a mountain of implementation roadblocks impeded growth. Today, market conditions indeed favor additive (supply chain, sustainability, cost reductions), but now a much larger subset of customers have many of the necessary building blocks to leverage AM effectively thanks to more productive and stable machines, much improved ‘Additive Manufacturing Execution’ software, more design for AM tools, and (a few) more standards to lean on.
About SmarTech Analysis:
Since 2013, SmarTech Analysis has tracked market data and published market reports on the 3D printing/additive manufacturing sector and is considered the leading industry analyst firm providing coverage of this sector. SmarTech analysis and data drives strategy development in the additive industry, and has been adopted and presented by many of the industry’s largest firms. SmarTech is a division of 3DR Holdings.
For more details on our company go to: www.smartechanalysis.com
Contact: info@smartechpublishing.com
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