The Laboratory Instrumentation Market in 2021 & Beyond

As publicly traded companies that participate in the laboratory instrumentation space begin to release their annual reports, the SDi team of expert analysts is hard at work compiling data to prepare the highly anticipated 2022 edition of our flagship annual report, the SDi Global Assessment Report. As always, we strive to provide the gold standard in market data for the laboratory instrumentation industry, examining over 80 individual instrumentation and equipment technologies, organized into 10 major categories. The report provides detailed insights into each technique, with major product segmentations, and growth forecasts by product type, geographic region, end market, and application.

As we await publication of the 2022 edition of Global, which will be released in May 2022, a great deal of valuable data can be found in the meantime in the 2021 edition, which provides market sizing for 2020 and annual market forecasts through 2025. Of course, 2020 was a highly unusual year, with the market experiencing the sharp effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continued to strongly  influence the market in 2021.

The total market was estimated to be nearly $66 billion in 2020, which represented a slight contraction compared to 2019. Of course, it was a difficult year for most end markets, with the exception of the pharma/bio market. Recovery of demand began in the later part of 2020, creating momentum that will carry the market forward with a projected 2020-2025 CAGR of 5.1%. Accelerating growth will be apparent in the market totals for 2021, which will not only erase the losses of the previous year, but propel the market to new record revenues. In fact, our early analyses indicate that the market is on track to meet our very strong forecasted growth estimates, reaching revenues of approximately $70 billion for 2021.

The life sciences have long dominated the market, generating nearly a quarter of total revenues in 2020, and continuing to increase its share as growth outpaces nearly all other technology groups. The life sciences encompases 13 distinct technologies, led by demand for PCR and sequencing. Chromatography, the second-leading group, is also expected to experience strong growth driven by the need to isolate biomolecules. 18 distinct types of chromatography are examined in the report.

2021 Lab Instrument Market

While established regionals continue to represent the largest segments of the market, developing regions are quickly gaining ground. China will be the growth leader, with a CAGR of 7.6% between 2020-2025. China generated about 12% of total market demand in 2020; it’s share of the market is projected to grow to 14% by 2025. The US & Canada will remain the leading regional end market, followed by Europe. Both regions will maintain steady growth over the next several years.

As we work diligently to produce the latest Global Assessment Report, we encourage you to make use of the wealth of information found in the 2021 edition. With over 1100 pages of market intelligence, the 2021 Global Assessment Report is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the analytical and life science instrumentation industry.