According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, industrial printer products in Australia and New Zealand unit shipments fell 35% YoY in 2020. Market Analyst Faris Latief has researched shipment in Graphics, CAD, Industrial Textile, Direct-to-Shape, Direct-to-Garment and Labels & Packaging. The good news is that shipments and installations are on the rise again.
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| Apart from Covid-19, 2020 saw challenges in supply chain logistics, shipping container availability and travel |
“Economic slowdown due to the pandemic, sluggish business sentiment and limited hardware and equipment were the cause of the diminished total numbers in 2020,” says Faris Latief, Market Analyst for IPDS at IDC Asia/Pacific. This trend was not unique to Australia and New Zealand, with the majority of Asia Pacific countries experiencing similar declines.
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| The $ value of shipments also dropped, by 44.6% |
Unit Shipments
All segments experienced significant decline in terms of unit shipments. This was particularly so for both Graphics (down 18% YoY) and computer-aided design (CAD) products (down 43% YoY). The increasing cost of freight and extended dwelling times resulted in the market being sluggish, with principals and distributors experiencing postponed shipments in 2020. Raw material constraints for printers and supplies also contributed to the decline.
Value of Products
As with unit shipments, total Product Value of Industrial Printer products also declined 44.6% YoY, with all products in this category declining in the period. The Graphics and Label & Packaging products had the largest share of the market, by total value.
Increase in Dye Sublimation
Breaking down products by Toner-ink type, dye sublimation printers outperformed all others, increasing by over 100% YoY, primarily as a result of the strong performance of 24” printers, dedicated for entry level business. These products have risen in line with user demand for retail, souvenir, and T-Shirt Printing.
Latief adds: “Australia and New Zealand are experiencing strong economic growth as a result of increases in consumer and business confidence in line with their continued recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. 2020 was a challenging year for the Industrial Printer market, but IDC expects more positive trends in coming years.”
Wide Format Online has also been speaking with suppliers of Sign, Display and Labels consumables - who almost universally report strong upward demand, even stock shortages, during 2020, presumably due to self-adhesive safety signage and labeling of high-demand FMCG goods including hand sanitiser. This tends to indicate that legacy equipment has been experiencing high uptime - further suggesting that replacement will be needed in the not too distant future.
IDC - International Data Corporation is a leading global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group, a world - leading tech media, data and marketing services company. IDC can be followed on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. An IDC Blog for industry news and insights is at: http://bit.ly/IDCBlog_Subscribe.
For further information, please contact:
Faris Latief
T: +62 87787069034
