According to the annual Wohler’s Report, the 3D printing industry broke the USD$2B annual mark for the first time in history during 2012.
Apparently the industry grew by a staggering 28.6% over 2011, far more than the overall economic growth rate. (Is it actually growing at all? We’re not sure.)
This demonstrates a few things. 3D printing is a major growth factor in today’s industry, lifting the economies of the world up from lower depths they would otherwise have. Aside from the direct revenue from 3D printing, the effects of 3D printing have made many companies far more efficient in development and even production of their products.
The report also shows the breakdown of industrial 3D printing by country:
- United States: 38 percent
- Japan: 9.7 percent
- Germany: 9.4 percent
- China: 8.7 percent
This is not surprising – but we think there are even more interesting breakdowns if personal 3D printing were included. While personal 3D printing has a lot of buzz right now, it is still quite small compared to the revenues flying around at the commercial level.
Just wait.
Via Spar Point Group
