Additive manufacturing (AM) markets—including all 3D-printing hardware, materials, software and services—are estimated to have grown 13.5% to $14.7 billion in 2023.
That’s according to Additive Manufacturing Research (AMR), a market research firm, formerly known as SmarTech Analysis, which has been tracking the sector since 2013.
Last year, the additive metals segment enjoyed a nearly 15% spike, while polymers were up a little more than 10%. Annual hardware revenues across both metals and polymers grew just under 6% year-over-year in 2023.
"An abnormal, up-and-down year for the AM market ended about the same as it began – with shifting trends in system purchasing making a lot of headlines and depressing revenue growth,” Scott Dunham, executive vice president at AMR, said in a release. “Still there exists a real appetite for AM technology that is likely to break loose in the near term, driven by a combination of government spending and maturity in key markets.”
Dunham adds that AMR expects a return to normal historical growth levels in 2024. “Longer term, AM is still the technology to watch for manufacturing evolution," he said.
Momentum for AM markets in the military/government sector shows no signs of slowing, and government spending on AM will be the single largest market factor over the next two years, according to AMR. Polymer AM material sales were a bright spot in the market in 2023 and are expected to further grow in 2024 as machine orders increase and further drive material sales, according to the group. AMR points to companies such as 3D Systems and Stratasys reporting consumables growth in 2023, as well as “impressive growth” last year from independent material developers such as BASF’s Forward AM.
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