3D printing market struggles amidst economic challenges

The global 3D printing market faced a challenging period in the third quarter of 2024, with reduced shipments of industrial and midrange systems amid economic uncertainties and market disruptions.

Industrial systems priced above USD $100,000 experienced a significant decline in shipments, dropping 24% year-over-year, pushing the annual trend further into negative territory. This drop was broadly reflected across various printer modalities and material types, with both metal and polymer shipments seeing nearly equal declines of 24% and 25% respectively. Chris Connery, Vice President of Global Analysis at CONTEXT, commented on the situation, stating: "There were some rays of hope that shone through." He noted that professional class sales saw only a marginal decline of 1% and entry-level printer shipments rose by 28% year-on-year. Furthermore, Eplus3D and Nikon SLM Solutions found success with their metal powder bed fusion machines within the struggling industrial sector.

The downward trend in industrial polymer systems was marked, with shipments of Vat Photopolymerisation systems decreasing by 30% year-over-year. UnionTech and 3D Systems, leaders in this space, reported sharp reductions in shipments attributed largely to declining demand in the dental market. Other industrial polymer technologies also faced challenges, with power bed fusion, material extrusion, and material jetting systems showing shipment declines of 15%, 15%, and 43% respectively.

The segment of industrial metal systems, previously more resilient, encountered declines in all technologies except for binder jetting systems. Powder bed fusion systems made up 74% of new industrial metal shipments in Q3-24 yet fell by 24% compared to the previous year. Directed energy deposition printer sales also dropped by 18%. Eplus3D led globally in terms of unit shipments for the quarter, with a 41% increase year-over-year, followed by TRUMPF and Renishaw with noticeable shipment increases.

Midrange systems priced between USD $20,000 and USD $100,000 experienced an 8% decline in shipments, heavily impacted by the overarching reduction in industrial spending. Stratasys maintained its market share leadership but faced weak sales in material extrusion lines. On the other hand, Chinese vendors like UnionTech, ZRapid Tech, and Flashforge performed relatively better, with shipments up by 46% collectively.

In the professional price class, shipment levels remained nearly stable with a 1% decline, as Formlabs drove recovery through its new LFD Vat Photopolymerization platform. Entry-level systems saw substantial growth, rising 28% year-over-year, albeit at a slowed pace in recent quarters.

Looking ahead, CONTEXT projections indicate that the market could stabilise and potentially rebound in 2025, with anticipated growth in industrial printer shipments by 14% and increased capital expenditure driven by lower interest rates. This optimism follows a period of volatility attributed to high interest rates and constrained capital expenditure in 2024.

"While this chaos had significant impacts, newly updated analyses show that 2024 as a whole was even more heavily affected by high interest rates and subsequently muted CapEx spending," stated Chris Connery. He further remarked, "It therefore seems that full-year figures are likely to be close to the lows seen during the height of pandemic lockdowns in 2020 with at least −12% fewer Industrial printers shipped worldwide in 2024 than in 2023."