IMAGE: Optech Consulting said that the industrial laser systems market was up 5% in 2013, reaching a new record level of $10.7 billion dollars. (Image credit: Optech Consulting)
According to the annual market survey from Optech Consulting (Taegerwilen, Switzerland), the global industrial laser systems market reached a record volume of $10.7 billion dollars in 2013, up 5% versus the previous year. The market for laser systems for macroprocessing, including mainly cutting, welding, and marking, was up 7% and reached a volume of $8.2 billion. The laser macroprocessing systems market trended better than the global machine tool market which decreased by 9% in 2013.
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The market for laser systems for microprocessing, accounting for a volume of $ 2.5 billion, suffered a 1% decline in 2013, in line with globally weak demand for semiconductor capital equipment (). Laser microprocessing systems are mainly used for the manufacturing of semiconductors, solar cells, printed circuit boards, and flat-panel displays.
The 5% growth rate of the total industrial laser systems market for 2013 falls short of the long-term compound annual growth rate of nearly 10% for the last ten years. The comparably weak growth in 2013 was mainly caused by decreasing demand in the Asia Pacific Rim region in the second half of the year. Including the market heavyweights of China, Japan, and Korea the region consumes just over 50% of the laser materials processing systems.
Demand in Europe, accounting for a global share of about 30%, increased by more than 10% on a dollar basis (the Euro/US$ exchange rate increased by 3.3%), spurred by increased demand in the large markets of Germany, France, and Italy. The figures signal a remarkable turnaround from the previous year when Europe was the least performing laser systems market with a decrease of 8% on a dollar basis.
Laser systems demand in 2013 also increased in the Americas, which account for about 15% of the global volume. While the United States market cooled in 2013 after three years of strong growth, Latin America contributed a double-digit increase. Further Information: www.optech-consulting.com.
SOURCE: Optech Consulting; http://www.optech-consulting.com