Market Profile: Used IR and NIR Spectroscopy Instrumentation

The resale of previously used laboratory analytical instrumentation is becoming an increasingly important segment of the scientific instrumentation market, and the infrared (IR) and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy markets provide a good example. The reliability and performance of older instruments is helping to drive used instrument demand, which is expected to grow significantly in the near future.

Laboratory IR spectroscopy is a very well established technique and has a relatively large installed base. Many older models have proven to be very reliable and are still capable of providing the performance required by a large cross section of end users, which has led to the rise of a substantial used instrument market. NIR spectroscopy is not nearly as established as IR spectroscopy, although overall demand for the technique has seen fairly strong growth in recent years. Therefore, the used instrument market for NIR is relatively small when compared to IR or other laboratory techniques.

IR and NIR used instrument demand for 2012.

The combined laboratory IR and NIR used instrument market totaled about $19 million in 2012, which accounted for less than 2% of the overall combined IR and NIR markets. However, in terms of unit sales, used instruments accounted for close to 8% of initial system sales. As used instrument brokers continue to develop their sales and support capabilities, and as the installed base expands, demand for IR and NIR used instruments will continue to grow at a substantial pace in the coming years.

The foregoing data were extracted from SDi's soon to be published market analysis and perspectives report titled The Used Analytical Instrumentation Market, June 2013. For more information, contact Stuart Press, Vice President, Strategic Directions International, Inc., 6242 Westchester Parkway, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045, (310) 641-4982, fax: (310) 641-8851, www.strategic-directions.com