CIMdata reports that the worldwide CAM software and related services market turned around in 2004 after having declined or been flat for the four previous years.
CIMdata reports that the worldwide CAM software and related services market turned around in 2004 after having declined or been flat for the four previous years. The market, as measured by end-user payments, is estimated to have had a growth of 7.2% from $1.107 billion in 2003 to $1.187 billion in 2004. This follows declines of 1.6% in 2000, 7.5% in 2001, and 0.4% in 2002 and a small growth of 0.5% in 2003. Purchases reached a peak in 1999 at $1.22 billion before the period of decline began.
CIMdata is projecting that 2005 also will be a strong year and that end-user payments for NC software and related services will increase by 7.4% to reach a level of $1.275 billion.
Alan Christman, CIMdata chairman, says, “The worldwide CAM software market is highly dependent upon the state of the global economy, the viability of the manufacturing sector, the extent of technology spending, and the amount and type of machine tool purchases.” As an example of this correlation, Christman cited figures that show, in 2004, the U.S. machine tool consumption in 2004 increased by more than 30% over 2003.
This information and other statistics are contained in CIMdata’s upcoming annual “NC Software and Related Services Market Assessment Report.”
—David Greenfield, editorial director, Control Engineering, [email protected]
