The high proportion of demand from government and academic laboratories, as well as its association with life science applications, has helped to insulate the molecular spectroscopy market from the recession. In 2009, the molecular spectroscopy market contracted 3.3% to $3.4 billion, but it should show a solid rebound in 2010, with more than 8% growth.

Most molecular spectroscopy techniques experienced flat growth in demand in 2009, with the major exceptions being color analysis, for which sales dropped a whopping 25%, and Raman spectroscopy, which showed growth of better than 6%. The color analysis market is not significantly tied to the rest of the molecular spectroscopy market, either in terms of end-users or vendors, and currently is experiencing demand that is off more than 30% from its peak in 2007 of around $375 million. Even with a return to growth in the high single digits in 2010, it will be some time before the color analysis market approaches its previous high-water mark

Raman spectroscopy was the only molecular spectroscopy technique to experience significant positive growth in 2009. This growth was due almost exclusively to the explosion in demand for handheld and portable instruments. Portable infrared instruments experienced even stronger growth than handheld Raman systems, but not nearly enough growth to offset a small percentage drop in the overall infrared spectroscopy market. To a lesser extent, the same was true of handheld near infrared demand. In 2010, growth in demand for Raman should easily return to double digits, as the market matures. The more broad-based infrared and molecular spectroscopy markets will experience annual growth in the 6%–8% range.

The NMR market, which accounts for nearly 30% of the molecular spectroscopy market, experienced a slight pullback in demand in 2009, as many end-users cancelled or put on hold big-ticket orders. However, NMR’s large installed base helped drive demand for service and aftermarket products, such as probes and cryogenic gases, which grew slightly last year. Some of the held-back demand for systems will be converted to orders in 2010, leading to a return to double-digit annual growth. Because such a high proportion of NMR demand comes from academic and governmental laboratories, the stimulus spending initiatives put in place over the past year will also undoubtedly have a disproportionately large impact on the NMR market.

The ellipsometry market, which is heavily tied to the semiconductor and electronics industry, has experienced sliding demand since 2007. However, the technology industry, which is expected to lead other industries out of the recession, should drive a significant rebound in demand more quickly than other molecular spectroscopy techniques.

The UV/Vis market and the polarimeter and refractometer market showed steady growth in 2009, and should return to mid single-digit growth in 2010. Both markets consist mostly of instruments costing less than $10,000. As relatively small-ticket items, they were less affected by end-users who had to cut capital budgets in 2009. Demand for microvolume UV/Vis, which is mostly related to the biotech industry, will continue to grow in double digits, more than offsetting flat to declining demand in other segments of the UV/Vis market, such as single-beam and visible-only instruments.

A new segment of the molecular spectroscopy market is terahertz spectroscopy, which currently has less than $10 million in annual sales, but is poised to develop into a significant segment of the market. Several vendors are introducing systems, which are initially being targeted at the pharmaceutical and hospital/clinical markets, although significant potential lies in other areas, such as security.

Molecular Spectroscopy 2009–2010

Market Share Growth Rate

NMR/EPR 29.3% 12.3%

UV-Vis 21.4% 5.1%

Infrared 18.1% 7.7%

Near Infrared 8.1% 6.5%

Color Measurement 7.6% 7.8%

Raman 6.2% 11.3%

Fluorescence 4.2% 2.1%

Polarimetry/Refractometry 3.5% 4.2%

Ellipsometry 1.6% 5.5%

Total 100.0% 8.2%

Chart: 2008–2011 Total Molecular Spectroscopy Market

2008 2009 2010 2011

Molecular Spectroscopy 3510 3394 3673 3976

Chart: 2009 Molecular Spectroscopy Market by Product Type

2009

Initial Systems 2340

Aftermarket 614

Service 440

Chart: 2009 Molecular Spectroscopy Suppliers Market Shares

Bruker 17%

Varian 8%

Thermo Scientific 9%

PerkinElmer 6%

FOSS 4%

Other 56%

Molecular Spectroscopy Market Leaders

UV-Vis Thermo Fisher Scientific, PerkinElmer

NMR/EPR Bruker, Varian

Near Infrared FOSS, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Color Measurement X-Rite, Konica Minolta

Infrared Thermo Fisher Scientific, PerkinElmer

Raman Horiba, Ahura Scientific

Fluorescence Horiba, Hitachi High-Technologies

Polarimetry/Refractometry ATAGO, Reichert

Ellipsometry Horiba, Sentech