There is some fair debate going on now as to whether our worldwide economy is on an upswing or a downswing. In the US, the Fed is preparing to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006, which is a positive sign, but the slowing in China is well documented, and Europe, with the possible exception of Germany, still really has never fully recovered from the last slowdown. Perhaps even worse is that emerging economies are slowing.
The IMF October forecast was for worldwide GDP growth to be 3.1% in 2015, slightly lower than the 3.4% growth for 2014, and lower than the 3.6% forecast growth for 2016. The IMF largely blames slowing worldwide growth in China, political instabilities, and weak commodity prices for much of this slowdown.
So has this sluggish worldwide growth slowed much of the demand for lasers? Surprisingly it hasn’t. While the economy certainly has some effect on some laser areas, in many others, the laser markets are broadly diversified and largely uncoupled from the underlying economy. At least this is true in enough areas to let the overall laser market float over any short-term economic uncertainties.
Here are some examples.... (CLICK here for the full blog by Allen Nogee on the Strategies Unlimited website).
And read our forthcoming January 2016 issue of Laser Focus World, for a full laser market review and analysis.
About the Author
Allen Nogee
President, Laser Markets Research
Allen Nogee has over 30 years' experience in the electronics and technology industry including almost 20 years in technology market research. He has held design-engineering positions at MCI Communications, GTE, and General Electric, and senior research positions at In-Stat, NPD Group, and Strategies Unlimited.
Nogee has become a well-known and respected analyst in the area of lasers and laser applications, with his research and forecasts appearing in publications such as Laser Focus World, Industrial Laser Solutions, Optics.org, and Laser Institute of America. He has also been invited to speak at conferences such as the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), Laser Focus World's Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar, the European Photonics Industry Consortium Executive Laser Meeting, and SPIE Photonics West.
Nogee has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Master's of Business Administration from Arizona State University.