Specialty gas demand in the United States is forecast to expand 3.5% per year to $3.4 billion in 2013. The manufacturing, electronics and health care sectors together accounted for 87% of total specialty gas demand in 2008. The dominance of these sectors will continue, though weakness in the U.S. electronics industry will limit demand for silane gases, high purity nitrogen and hydrogen, halogen gases and others used in the production of semiconductors and other electronic components. By 2013, the outsourcing of U.S. electronics manufacturing will cause this sector to drop from the second largest consumer of specialty gases to the third largest. Increased demand for photovoltaic products and plasma display panels in the U.S. will help shore up an otherwise sagging electronics market.
HEALTHCARE › Fastest Growing Market
The healthcare industry will be the fastest growing specialty gas segment. This industry uses significant amounts of specialty gases in many applications, including: analytical, diagnostic and imaging equipment; institutional and home respiratory therapies; equipment and instrument sterilization; dental and general surgical anesthesia; and imaging contrasts. Ongoing research into new applications, as well as an aging population, will help fuel specialty gas demand growth by the healthcare sector.
| Increased demand for photovoltaic products and plasma display panels will help shore up an otherwise sagging U.S. electronics market for specialty gases. |
MANUFACTURING › Largest User
Manufacturing will remain the largest consumer of specialty gases, comprising about 44% of total demand. Applications for specialty gases in general manufacturing are extremely diverse. The chemical industry uses large quantities of specialty gases as intermediate feedstocks in the manufacture of many chemicals. The food industry uses specialty gases for food processing, packaging and refrigeration. Manufacturers of thermal windows use noble gases as fill gases between glass panes. Lighting and laser manufacturers also use significant amounts of specialty gases.
ANALYTICAL GASES › Fastest Growing Application
Inert atmosphere/purge gases used in food processing and semiconductor manufacturing are the largest application for specialty gases, representing 19% of demand in 2008. Second by application are specialty gases used for instrument calibration, environmental monitoring and other analytical processes, which accounted for 14% of specialty gas demand in 2008. Analytical gases will grow more rapidly than other applications due to the increasing need to monitor pollutants, maximize production efficiency, monitor product quality and render diagnoses.
The above was excerpted from the “Specialty Gas Report” produced by the Freedonia Group, located in Cleveland, Ohio, and on the Web at www.freedoniagroup.com.
