SmarTech Publishes Q2 2021 Additive Manufacturing Market Data for Metals and Polymers: Poised to Reach Historic Growth Levels
September 20, 2021
New York, NY: The additive manufacturing market is bouncing back and poised to become bigger than ever according to the latest report from SmarTech Analysis, the leading market analysis firm serving the additive manufacturing industry. Prior SmarTech advisory reports predicted this development more than a year ago at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the West. The latest report, released to advisory services clients last week, quantifies continued acceleration in all sectors of additive manufacturing, examining key ongoing trends at play which set the stage for an anticipated move into historic growth.
Quarterly reports on the metal and polymer AM markets are available as a one-time purchase to non-subscribers via SmarTech’s website. For more information on stand alone reports or ongoing subscription advisory services for the additive market, go to: www.smartechanalysis.com
About the report:
The total additive market in the second quarter saw a continued sequential strength, and smashed year-over-year performance. Quarterly market revenues have now officially exceeded pre-pandemic levels according to SmarTech’s database, and are likely to accelerate even further throughout the second half of the year. SmarTech’s quarterly advisory services reports track critical market metrics on an ongoing basis, and have since 2017, creating a database for subscribers to track trends and segment performance. The latest report details some of the implications as well as the ongoing recovery and growth drivers.
From the report:
- A rebound in hardware sales was the obvious expectation for the first half of 2021, but material and services sales also performed well, indicating a robust recovery and more than just superficial ‘bounce-back’ dynamics in the overall market. This has caused the total additive market (in terms of printers, print materials, and outsourced print services) in the first half of 2021 to generate some $4.7B in revenues – the same seen in the first half of 2019. However, stakeholders from Desktop Metal, to 3D Systems, to others industry wide all expect more growth in the second half of the year
- The rate at which contract manufacturers -those with established manufacturing businesses in one or more key markets -are adding additive capabilities appears to be at an all time high through June 2021. This is an important indicator of future adoption and growth, and in the second quarter companies like Poral, Hyde Aero Products, Marotta Controls, and Matsuura all announced inaugural AM services during Q2
- In the second quarter, a number of relatively new providers focusing on electron beam based powder bed fusion technologies made significant first commercialization steps, including the sale of the first Calibur3 machine from UK’s Wayland Additive. An increase in availability of quality electron beam based PBF systems are expected to add further growth to the metal AM hardware market beginning in 2022, alongside major super-laser based systems announced late last year, creating a further surge in hardware revenues
