Test instrument revenue to approach $4.5b in 2010
Rick Nelson, Chief Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 5/1/2007
General-purpose test-equipment revenues will reach nearly $4.5 billion worldwide in 2010, up from $3.6 billion in 2006, according to Doug Raymond, VP for measurement and instrumentation at Frost & Sullivan (www.frost.com). Raymond presented his forecast at Test & Measurement World’s annual awards breakfast, which was held February 21 during the APEX show in Los Angeles, CA.
Raymond attributed the growth in part to the defense sector’s demand for general-purpose test equipment and to market growth in the Asia Pacific region. He noted that technology advancement in the communications and information industry (with the emergence of WiFi, PCI 2.0 Express, WiMax, 3G/4G, high-rate digital, and wireless video applications) is also fueling demand for general-purpose test equipment.
But Raymond did cite some restraints on growth: sales of used test equipment slow sales of new equipment; price pressure experienced in Asia Pacific markets restrains revenues; the plethora of communications standards is challenging test-equipment suppliers to efficiently address the market; and synthetic instrumentation is changing the nature of the general-purpose-test market.
He said that at 33.7% of the market, oscilloscopes are the largest category within the general-purpose instrument market. In second place is the spectrum-analyzer segment at 17.3%. Other categories include signal generators, multimeters, network analyzers, logic analyzers, power meters, and arbitrary waveform generators. Raymond noted that 10 companies—Agilent Technologies, Tektronix, Fluke, Rohde & Schwarz, LeCroy, Anritsu, Yokogawa, Advantest, Aeroflex, and Keithley Instruments—make up 81% of the worldwide general-purpose test market.
See Raymond’s presentation, which covers future market evolution, breaks out revenue figures for Asia, and provides insights into printed-circuit-board test and inspection.
