May 17, 2013—A new “Photonics Industry Report 2013” presented by four German industry associations predicts the global photonics market will grow from €350 billion in 2011 to €615 billion by 2020. The prediction for photonics assumes a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5 percent per year, as reflected in the industry since 2005, a growth rate twice that of worldwide gross domestic product) GDP over a period of severe economic downturn.
The report was jointly announced by four associations, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), VDMA, Spectaris, and ZVEI, at the LASER World of PHOTONICS conference in Munich, Germany, on May 13. The German photonics sector experienced above-average real growth of 7 percent, slightly better than the global average, thanks to strong exports in production systems, image processing and measurement technology, and optical components and systems. Germany added some 30,000 new photonics-related jobs between 2005 and 2011, to create a total workforce of 134,000 employees.
More information about the report and key findings about the global photonics market and all its segments can be found at vdma.org.