In a recent article on BusinessWire.com the global welding market and its increasing growth is put on a spotlight. According to the article, the welding market is experiencing “strong growth” and will continue to experience growth well into 2017. So what exactly does this mean?
More welders, welding companies, and all those with an interest in welding are buying more welding products. Naturally you would assume more welding products being sold means that there are more welding jobs to perform, right? Which leads us to our Fact or Fiction question:
Does a competitive welding equipment market equal job growth?
Fact, but before you get excited let’s take a look at the numbers:
Welding products will haul in $16.3 billion this year and are expected to cross $17 billion in 2012.
Based on these rates sales of welding products are projected to go up to $21.9 billion by 2017, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) or 5.2%.
In a job market as poor as what we’re experiencing, these numbers sound great. But let’s dive a little further into the details:
These totals are for the the global market, not just the United States. So we can’t assume that it’s the US at the top of sales.
A solid increase in demand for automated and robotic welding systems also account for the sales increase, which also amounts to job loss for certain sectors of the welding field.
There’s still a sliver of hope, even with the demand for robots.
According to this same report, the largest share of this market increase comes from consumable gas and protective equipment, which are anticipated to meet $10.9 billion in sales by 2012 and increase to 14.4 billion in 2017. Robots don’t need protective gear, so human workers are accounting for this share in the market increase.
At the end, this is all speculation. The numbers can be astounding, but if welding jobs are declining in your city then this report has little relevance to you. As I’ve pointed out in past blog posts, such as “Why Not Consider Freelance Welding?,” there are a few options to explore if you are a skilled welder with interest in starting a welding business. Depending on what kind of welding business you want to start, this report may be of huge interest to you. So let us know, what are your thoughts on this report?
If you want more information on this report, visit CompaniesAndMarkets.com.
