Report Buyer, the online destination for business intelligence for major industry sectors, has added a report which finds that sensors based on emerging technologies, such as MEMS-based sensors and imaging sensors, will see the fastest market gains.

Sensors – U.S. industry forecasts for 2012 & 2017 finds that the U.S. demand for sensors is projected to advance 4.3 percent per annum through 2012 to $12.7 billion.

The report says overall growth will be supported by technological advances which allow for price reduction and greater precision. These changes aid in expanding the use of sensors into new markets, and into new applications within existing markets.

Analysts say that process variable sensors (e.g., pressure, temperature, flow and level) will continue to be the largest type of sensor, but they are expected to grow at below-average rates. This is due to the fact that they represent some of the more mature products in the sensor industry.

Authors of the report find that the automotive industry will remain the largest market, but growth will also be strong in military and aerospace applications. They say that while the motor vehicle market will be among the fastest growing and will continue to represent the largest market for sensors, the large industrial sensor market will post below-average growth, due to the high degree of maturity and downward pricing pressure that further limit value gains.  There will, however, be increased aerospace equipment shipments and higher defense expenditures which will continue to drive strong growth for sensors in the military/aerospace markets.

Other forecasts highlighted in the report:

• Proximity/positioning, imaging sensors will offer fastest growth prospects through 2012.

• Imaging sensors — including charge-coupled devices (CCD), complementary metal-oxide semiconductors (CMOS) and thermal (infrared) sensors — will register the fastest gains of all sensor types.

• CMOS imaging sensors will continue to take significant market share from CCDs, as they benefit from their lower costs, lower power requirements and higher speeds.

Thermal imaging sensors will receive a significant boost from rising military expenditures, as well as increased importance in new markets such as police departments, fire departments, structural testing companies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and private consumers.

Sensors – U.S. industry forecasts for 2012 & 2017

Report Buyer product ID: FED00024

Report Buyer Category:  Industry & Manufacturing