The separations market accounts for 17% of the total analytical and life sciences instrumentation industry and increased 1.5% to $7.6 billion in 2013. Demand was mainly driven by the aftermarket and service, while demand for initial systems increased about 1% for the year. Capital expenditures by industrial segments, such as pharmaceutical and chemical markets, were somewhat weak for the year, particularly in the US and Europe. Additionally, the market was dramatically impacted by negative currency translation in Japan. Demand from Asia, particularly China, was strong for the market during the year. Also, Latin America and the rest of the world posted solid growth, while the demand in the US and Europe offered minimal growth as compared to 2012.

IBO expects slightly better results for the separations market for 2013. The market is forecast to increase 2.3% to $7.8 billion, driven by stronger performance from initial systems sales and continued growth in aftermarket and service revenue.

All geographic segments are expected to perform well this year, led by robust demand in China, the Middle East and Africa, particularly in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and CRO sectors. Japan is expected to post solid growth as the impact of currency will be less of an issue. Latin America is forecast to buoy demand for the year due to continued growth in biotech and food applications.

The pharmaceutical industry represents the largest segment of the separations market. Although pharmaceutical spending is not growing as fast as it once was, it continues to invest in technologies to accelerate the drug discovery and development process. Outsourcing to China and India has become a common practice, which drives growth for CROs. Opportunities in downstream discovery applications and the expansion of quality control operations have also fueled growth in this industry. Applications in biotech and clinical research are also driving growth. Demand from the public sector (academia and government) was a bright spot for 2013 and is projected to continue this year.

Agilent Technologies increased its share of the separations market in 2013 due to its strength in HPLC and dominant position in gas chromatography (GC). However, Waters lost some share mainly because of its significant share of the Japanese market, which was down due to currency translation.

Thermo Fisher Scientific represents 14% of the total separations market and is the leader in ion chromatography (IC). Shimadzu’s share of the separations market slightly decreased in 2013 to account for 8%, while Sigma-Aldrich, the leading chemical company, accounts for 6% market share.

The HPLC segment accounts for the largest segment of the total separations market at 58%. The market, which is led by Waters and Agilent, is forecast to increase slightly this year. Demand for UHPLC systems, particularly systems integrated with mass spectrometers, is expected to fuel growth. GC accounts for nearly a quarter of the separations market. Overall, the GC market is expected to increase 3.8% in 2014, driven by growth in Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Solid growth is also expected for the supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), flash chromatography and capillary electrophoresis (CE) markets this year. The demand for CE is driven by growth for microfluidic-based CE systems and clinical applications. Flash demand is expected to increase due to consumables and chemicals revenues, while the SFC market’s growth will be driven by demand for analytical systems. Low pressure LC (LPLC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC) will record more modest growth.