Market insights firm CONTEXT has published a report claiming that the Chinese and desktop 3D printing markets are leaders in recovering from the global epidemic.
According to the company’s analysis, China’s domestic industrial 3D printer shipments grew 24 percent between Q1 and Q2 2020, while global shipments of desktop systems increased 68 percent over the same period.
In contrast, between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020, CONTEXT’s dataset shows a 38 percent drop in revenue received by Western firms from industrial systems. These figures show that, at least for now, extensive industrial recovery remains firmly in place in China, but the desktop market continues to grow worldwide.
Chris Connery, VP of Global Research at CONTEXT said, “As soon as China came back online in Q2 2020, so did the demand for industrial printers.” “In fact, many Chinese vendors not only saw increased shipments compared to the first quarter, but also higher shipment rates than a year ago.”
“While overall shipments have improved slightly from Q1 to Q2, mostly due to the uptick in China, they remained very low in the Western markets,” Connery said.
Is desktop 3D printing increasing?
CONTEXT’s research, which focuses on shipments rather than sales, has characterized an increase in client demand for desktop systems as a major recovery driver in the broader industry. Within the firm’s report, it broadly identifies desktop machines under two main categories: ‘professional’ systems priced from $ 2.5k to $ 20k, and ‘personal’ printers priced at $ 2.5k or less. .
In the professional category, the company’s data draws a direct link between essential household chores and a marginal increase in desktop shipments due to the lockdown. In addition, as professional users continue to seek more robust feature sets, global desktop system manufacturers have been able to raise prices, enabling them to increase revenue by 7 percent between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020. has gone.
Although Ultimaker is not publicly listed and does not publish its full financial information, the company has reported “double-digit” revenue growth during H1 2020. Consequently, even though it is not possible to verify Ultimaker’s claims, they reflect. In this trend, engineers working from home are fast becoming the market for these professional machines.
PPE production and shipment growth
Likewise, CONTEXT’s professional system numbers, its data on personal printers, also show an increase in demand, but on a quarterly basis between Q1 and Q2 2020, and at a whopping 68 percent. Given that many low-cost machines are shipped through China-related supply chains, the country’s early recovery from the epidemic in the second quarter may contribute to this increase in shipments.
Interestingly, Connery identified a growing market for desktop systems, which had a significant impact on the growth in shipments made during Q2: professionals making PPE. Although he stopped to say that it made up for lost revenue through closed markets, Connery said that Hobbist activity represented a quick win for the industry during the quarter.
“It is commonly speculated that the need for PPE (and thus printers to make PPE) was only short-lived,” Collins explained. “But the hope is that the occurrence of this strange epidemic helped to put 3D printing back on the radar for many ordinary consumers and amateurs.”
Although the analysis firm’s claims about amateur production of PPE have been widely reported, its assessment of industrial markets is less conclusive. While there is no doubt that many industrial firms ceased production during the lockdown, CONTEXT’s claim that it caused a 27 percent drop in system producers’ revenue does not tell the full story.
For example, SLM Solutions reported 90 percent revenue growth during the first half of 2020, reflecting the company’s strong order backlog and loyal customer base. As a result, it can be concluded that desktop shipments increased during the second quarter of 2020, but did not impact all industrial system manufacturers in the same way.
CONTEXT data shows uneven recovery
In addition to identifying the trend of adopting desktop systems, the CONTEXT report also claimed that worldwide demand for 3D printing has not recovered equally. According to the firm’s data, global total revenue from new printer shipments increased 5 percent from Q1 to Q2 2020, but the majority of this growth was generated in China.
For example, Chinese manufacturer Farsoon did not publish its full financial statement, but reported earlier this month that its revenue had doubled between Q1 and Q3 2020. Given that the epidemic in China subsided before it occurred elsewhere, it is possible that Chinese companies are slightly ahead. In the recovery of ‘U-shape’ over a long period of time, but it can be leveled when reduced.
