According to the IDC, global shipments of industrial printers dropped by almost 13% in 2022. Large format digital printer shipments were down 11.7% year-over-year, while the industrial textile printer market declined by nearly 50%. The trend was reversed by the 8.4% increase in direct-to-garment printer shipments.
Worldwide industrial printer shipments fell 11.6% year over the year to 78.500 units during the fourth quarter 2022 (4Q22), according the International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Industry Printer Tracker. Also, results for the entire year 2022 were down with shipments falling 12.9% in comparison to 2021.
“The fourth quarter ended in a soft year for the sector overall,” stated Tim Greene (research director, Hardcopy Solutions, IDC).
“China is home to a large portion of the industrial printing market. As such, although the region is expanding now, China’s market was slow and had limited global growth for the majority of 2022. The prime example of how digital transformation can disrupt growth is 2022.
Highlights Q4 2022
The shipments of large format digital printers fell 1.6% in the third quarter (3Q22), and 11.7% year-over-year.
The 4Q22 sequential growth in direct-to–garment (DTG), printer sales was 4.7% and 8.4% respectively.
Shipments of direct-to shape printers experienced a modest drop of 2.2% in Q3 2022 compared to 6.6% year-over-year.
The global shipments of industrial textiles declined by almost 15% and nearly half compared to 2021.
Industrial digital label & packaging printer shipments declined 15.9% compared to Q3 2022 and 8.9% year over year.
Regional Analysis
Shipments in the Central & Eastern European and Western European markets were bright spots with double-digit shipment growth for both regions in Q4 2022.
China saw its shipment decline by 21% in Q3 2022 compared to Q3 2022.
The Middle East and Africa region saw the strongest growth, with a 36% increase in shipment volume compared to Q3 2022.
4Q22 North America (US + Canada shipments) decreased by 6% compared with 3Q22.
2022 Highlights
The worldwide shipment of large format digital printers fell 12.9% compared to 2021.
Year over year, direct-to–garment (DTG), printer shipments declined 6.8% due to slower shipments beyond North America.
Exports of direct-to shape printers fell 5% in comparison to 2021, mainly because of softnesses in China and Western Europe.
The largest decline in shipments to the industrial textile market was seen by 2021, when shipments were down 45%.
Industrial digital label & packaging printer shipments declined 5.4% year over year in 2022.
Regional Analysis
Shipments in the Central & Eastern European market were down 35% in 2022 as global vendors limited their activities in the region due to the war in the Ukraine.
China’s shipping volumes declined 46% in 2022, compared to 2021.
Between 2021 and 2022, North America’s shipping volumes (US + Canada), was effectively flat.
The 2022 growth in shipping volumes in Africa and the Middle East was 25% higher than 2021.
The Asia/Pacific region, excluding Japan and China, saw an increase of 10% in shipments between 2016 and 2022.
IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker provides total market size and vendor share for five major market categories: large format, label & packaging, direct to garment, industrial textile, and direct to shape. The Tracker not only provides shipment value and units, but also provides market data for each product category by ink type and media size. This can be used to determine whether the primary application is available across nine countries and 90 nations.
IDC employs more than 1,300 analysts in the world to provide global and regional expertise on technology, IT benchmarking, sourcing, industry opportunities, and trends in more 110 countries.
www.idc.com
