Tariff announcements and changes in the academic and government funding landscape in the US are the latest challenges facing the laboratory tools industry. But, according to Strategic Directions International’s (SDi’s) 2025 “Global Assessment Report,” despite these challenges and others, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for laboratory instruments will increase in coming years.

Five-Year Market Demand

The report provides a five-year forecast by year for demand for 80 total categories of lab analytical technology (see table below). The forecast includes instruments, the aftermarket (consumables, components, etc.) and service. Company market share, as well as share of demand by region, end-market segment and lab type are also featured in the report.

Although total demand will continue to grow between 2024 and 2029, there is variation for growth among the 10 technology categories and 80 subsegments. Compared to SDi’s estimates for 2019–2024, there is a new fastest growing technology segment for the 2024–2029 period. The segment that will show the slowest growth rate has also changed. The report also includes revisions to prior estimates.

The estimated CAGRs for the total instrument market will accelerate between the 2019–2024 period and 2024–2029 for five technology categories, will decline for four and will remain the same for one. This provides a mixed picture and is reflective of a changing market environment influenced by replacement cycles, consumables demand and drug development trends, among numerous other influences.

Life Science

Life science instrumentation will remain the largest market segment, with total market size significantly surpassing the other nine technology categories. Life science instrumentation consists of 13 instrument subsegments (see table below). They range from mature technologies, such as electrophoresis, to emergent techniques, such as spatial omics. PCR and sequencing will be the dominant categories in terms of market size. Within the 13 subcategories, there are 33 subsegments. Fast growing subcategories include long-read sequencing and confocal-based high-content screening.

The aftermarket makes up the majority of life science demand in both report periods. Relatedly, for the life science market, the report excludes clinical diagnostic aftermarket and service but includes clinical diagnostic instruments when the instrument is sold into research and QC labs and when the design of the instrument is identical. Clinical research instruments are also included in the report. Lab automation devices are an example of tools that are often sold into clinical diagnostics, research and QC labs without any variation. A technology spanning both clinical diagnostic and clinical research applications includes PCR.

M&A

M&A will affect growth in demand in coming years as analytical instrument companies continue to focus on acquiring competitors or expanding into adjacent or new markets, as well as targeting smaller companies with newer technologies or attractive market niches. M&A activities announced last year that can be expected to play a role in companies’ future positioning in markets include Bruker’s numerous acquisitions spanning fields such as mass spectrometry and spatial omics, MilliporeSigma’s $600.0 million purchase of transfection reagent firm Mirus Bio and Illumina’s purchase of single-cell technology firm Fluent BioSciences. Private equity firms expanding their share in the instrument market through companies in which they have invested include Ampersand Capital Partners, Battery Ventures and Carlyle.

Meanwhile, divestments have created new market participants, affecting various technology segments. This includes Danaher’s spin-off of its environmental and applied solutions business to firm Veralto, which affects technology markets such as electrochemistry, spectroscopy and colorimetry. Also, PerkinElmer’s new configuration affected many markets, including atomic spectroscopy and molecular spectroscopy. Upcoming divestments should also see major changes in market participants. Becton, Dickinson has announced plans to separate its Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions business. Biosciences is a major player in the flow cytometry market. Honeywell has announced the future spin-off of its Advanced Materials business, a prominent supplier of lab chemicals.

Conclusion

Newer technical advancements, such as light-sheet microscopy; fast growing applications, such as PFAS testing; and geographic expansion, such as demand in India, are among the factors expected to drive growth in the analytical instrument market between 2024 and 2029. SDi’s 2025 “Global Assessment Report” shows how these and other developments will shape market growth between now and 2029.