Worldwide Spending on 3D Printing to Grow from Nearly $11 Billion to $26.7 Billion by 2019

According to the Semiannual 3D Printing Spending Guide just released by International Data Corporation (IDC) the 3D printing industry is going to be rapidly expanding in the next three years. The global market intelligence and advisory services provider is predicting that 3D printing will expand globally at a 27% compound annual growth rate. IDC says that the nearly $11 billion industry in 2015 will balloon to $26.7 billion by 2019. This is one of the fastest rates of growth yet predicted for 3D printing, where it is expected that the West European, Asian and United States markets will primarily drive the growth.

The new 3D Printing Spending Guide released by IDC significantly expands on their previous efforts by focusing more on individual industries, technologies, geographic regions and use cases. IDC expanded their focus to provide more detailed analysis of 3D printing buying trends that would highlight the areas with the most and the least expected growth. This is an acknowledgement that the 3D printing industry is far more segmented than most industry trend reports tend to recognize. The industrial 3D printing market is vastly different from the desktop 3D printer market which is vastly different from the biomedical 3D printing market, with each showing dramatically varied growth rates over the past year.

“3D printing has been a mainstay in specialized discrete manufacturing markets like automotive and aerospace for many years. However, in just the past three years, lower-priced 3D printers and affordable materials have dramatically widened the market for 3D printing to now enable consumer, education, healthcare and additional manufacturing markets. That said, 3D printing availability doesn’t translate similarly across industries. Vendors and service providers need to understand how differences in use cases, materials cost, and end customer expectation are uniquely shaping each market,” explained Vice President of IDC’s Consumer Insights and Analysis Group Christopher Chute.

The IDC guide suggests that the expected high rate of growth and expansion will be driven primarily by a few select industries rather than a cumulative effect over the entire industry. Specifically businesses that previously sold and manufactured mass-produced products will now be capable of attainable customization that will greater service individual needs and requirements. While overall the United States, Western Europe and Asia will be responsible for most of the industry growth, the IDC expects that 3D printing will continue to develop rapidly in several emerging markets throughout the world.

“IDC’s 3D printing research indicates that the 3D printer market is primed and ready for greater mainstream adoption. There is strong appeal for this technology across several markets, and regions,” said Keith Kmetz, IDC’s Program Vice President of Imaging, Printing and Document Solutions research.

The aggregate share of global 3D printing spending by the United States, West European and Asian markets is expected to rise from the 59.2% recorded in 2014 to an estimated 70% by 2019. This will be a result of a greater adoption of 3D printing applications within the industrial sector. China in particular is expected to become a leading market for 3D printing hardware, products and services as they begin to heavily leverage their pre-existing manufacturing and distribution infrastructure.

The Worldwide Semiannual 3D Printing Spending Guide produced by IDC focuses on any technology that enables the creation of physical objects and shapes produced using material that is laid down in successive layers upon itself using digital models or files. The guide compiles spending data for more than twenty additive manufacturing applications across twenty industries including manufacturing, education, healthcare and construction in eight global regions. The guide also offers data for all 3D printing hardware, materials, software, and services. Discuss your thoughts on these projections in the IDC 3D Printing Spending Guide forum over at 3DPB.com.