Market Profile: Spectroscopy Instruments

Spectroscopy has always been a key sector of the analytical and life science instrumentation industry because of the vastness of applications in just about every industrial sector. The market represents approximately 15% of the total industry, consisting of two technology categories (molecular and atomic) and a total of 65 product groupings.   

2015 spectroscopy demand by sector.

The demand for spectroscopy in 2016 has been quite turbulent with ups and downs scattered throughout industries, technologies, and geographies. The industrial and public sectors, which account for about two-thirds of the spectroscopy market, have experienced some weakness in 2016 because of lackluster demand from the semiconductors and metals–mining industries. Funding delays in the public sector, particularly in Western Europe, and the negative effects of currency translation have depressed the overall market.    However, demand from life science, environmental, food, and applied markets have experienced robust growth, particularly for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and other life science research applications. In addition, the United States and China have been key geographies for increased unit replacements and new installations that have driven growth for 2016. Aftermarket and service, which account for about a third of the market, have remained steady.    The long-term outlook for spectroscopy tools remains strong. Molecular spectroscopy is experiencing solid growth, particularly from Raman, near infrared, and infrared technologies, as well as portable and handheld technologies. Overall demand from developing regions is expected to drive growth with robust demand in China. Environmental and food testing applications are key driving forces that are also expanding the market.    Atomic spectroscopy, which includes X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), arc–spark optical emission spectroscopy (OES), atomic absorption (AA), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), ICP–mass spectrometry (MS), total organic carbon (TOC), and organic and inorganic analyzers, was measured at a $3.6 billion market in 2015. The technology sector is forecasted to increase modestly over the next five years with growth led by XRD, XRF, and ICP-MS technologies. Innovations in portable and handheld instruments are also fueling growth.   The following market information was extracted from new data and analysis from independent market research firm, Top-Down Analytics. For more information, contact Glenn Cudiamat, General Manager at (888) 953-5655 or glenn.cudiamat@tdaresearch.com. Glenn is a market research expert and has been covering the analytical instrumentation industry for nearly two decades.