What is the 3D printing market worth?

When you think about it, printing custom parts for your project or prototype is one of a hundred things that 3D printers can do well.

Whether it is printing hearts or buildings, it seems like 3D printers are taking over the world.

According to IDC, global spending on 3D printing (including hardware, materials, software, and services) will grow to US$23 billion in 2022 with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.4 percent.

Analysts also forecast that worldwide spending will exceed US$14 billion in 2019, an increase of 23.2 percent over current year’s figures.

Together, 3D printers and materials will account for roughly two-thirds of the worldwide spending total throughout the forecast, reaching US$7.8 billion and US$8 billion respectively in 2022.

Services spending will reach US$4.8 billion in 2022, led by on-demand parts services and systems integration services. Purchases of 3DP software will grow more slowly than the overall market with a five-year CAGR of 16.7 percent.

Forecasts by IDC suggest that the United States will be the region with the largest spending total in 2019 (US$5.4 billion) followed by Western Europe (US$5 billion).

Together, these two regions will provide nearly two thirds of all 3D printing spending throughout the forecast.

China will be the third largest region with more than US$1.9 billion in spending, followed by Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the Middle East and Africa (MEA).

The leading use cases for 3D printing are prototypes, aftermarket parts, and parts for new products. These three use cases will account for 45 percent of worldwide spending in 2019. Dental objects and medical support objects and tissue/organ/bone printing will see five-year CAGRs exceeding 21 percent.

According to IDC Research Director Hardcopy Peripherals and 3D Printing Tim Greene:

“The emergence of higher speed 3D printers, production configurations, and the expanded range of materials available for 3D printing systems continue to enable wider adoption of 3D printing across numerous industries. The development of some of these new materials is critical, because it increases both adoption and utilization. Over the forecast period IDC expects revenue from 3D printed materials to surpass revenue from 3D printer hardware”