Despite the current worldwide economic slump, the market for cartridges to purify liquids will rise in 2009 to $13.4 billion, up 1 percent from 2008, according to a report by the McIlvaine Company (www.mcilvainecompany.com). The picture, however, is mixed with some geographical regions and some industrial segments showing declining revenue.
Until a few months ago, McIlvaine was projecting a 6 percent cartridge revenue growth for the world and double-digit growth in China. The latest forecasts reflect the shrinking manufacturing output and postponement of capital investment. However, cartridges are a consumable product, with string-wound cartridges can be replaced as often as once per hour, whereas membrane cartridges average more than one year of use. This replacement market will help the cartridge segment weather the brunt of the current economic downturn, according to McIlvaine.
Further, McIlvaine says the cartridge segment will be largely protected because some of the largest end-use markets are recession proof. Healthcare, for example, represents 8 percent of the total cartridge market. Pharmaceutical revenues account for 12 percent of total sales.
McIlvaine say the growing cartridge market in Asia will offset slowness in Europe, while each industry sector, with the exception of electronics, is projected to grow modestly in 2009. The relatively poor quality of water delivered by municipal agencies in Asia has also generated a substantial market for cartridges.
| 2009 207.89 210.75 595.70 353.60 184.48 252.73 66.90 85.61 198.56 451.66 93.03 192.73 963.67 85.67 237.09 |
