Material properties of samples, such as thermal and viscoelastic properties, hardness and particle size, are measured using instruments for materials characterization. In 2015, the global market for materials-characterization instrumentation is projected to grow 2.6% to $2.5 billion. The relatively flaccid growth is due to weakened industrial demand globally, particularly in the oil and gas industry, which experienced record low prices in late 2014 and early 2015.

Instruments for physical testing measure the strength, hardness, durability and fatigue properties of materials and products, and make up the largest individual market within materials characterization. The segment accounts for over 31% of total market demand. Physical-testing instrument demand is expected to grow similarly to the total materials-characterization market, at approximately 2.6% in 2015, down from 3.4% growth in 2014. Physical-testing segment growth is sustained by increased demand from the automotive and its complementary industries, such metals and polymers, as well as a small but growing segment of biomechanical-research applications.

The thermal-analysis instrument market, the second-largest individual market within materials characterization, is forecast to grow most quickly this year among the materials-characterization technologies. Though modest at 3.1%, growth is expected to be driven by the increasing popularity of coupled systems, which help to bolster sensitivity of instruments such as mass spectrometers and hyphenated Fourier transform–infrared spectrometers.

Calorimeters, the second-smallest individual segment, are the only technology aside from thermal analyzers to grow faster in 2015 than the overall market rate, at 3.0%. Demand for instruments for isothermal titration calorimetry, particularly from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, is expected to float calorimeters above the overall market’s growth rate, especially as applications involving active pharmaceutical ingredients increase and research on protein binding progresses.

Viscometer and petroleum-analyzer demand are expected to grow slower than the overall materials-characterization market in 2015, with 2.2% and 0.8% growth, respectively. The decline of the oil and gas industry towards the end of 2014 and spilling into 2015 is the primary source of reduced demand for both individual segments, though viscometry less so due to its broader application base compared to petroleum analyzers.

Almost 60% of the vendors in the materials-characterization market focus primarily on a single segment and, because the physical-testing market is the largest individual market, four of the top six providers in the overall market fall within the physical-testing segment. Instron (Illinois Tool Works), MTS Systems and Zwick Roell focus almost entirely on physical testing, while Shimadzu, which is more broadly based, participates in several segments of the materials-characterization market.

TA Instruments, a division of Waters, is the supplier with the greatest share in the overall materials-characterization market. It is also the top supplier of thermal-analysis, and rheometry and viscometry instrumentation, as well as one of the primary vendors for calorimetry. The company with the largest market share in particle characterization is Malvern Instruments (Spectris). It is also a strong competitor in the rheometry and viscometry market.

While some consolidation of the fragmented materials-characterization market occurred in 2014, consolidation in some of the more-competitive segments is expected to be a recurring trend this year.