Global large format printer market grows 6.2% year-over-year with 77.7 thousand units shipped in Q3, says IDC; US growth up 16.5% in units, 8.4% in shipment value in quarter

Mathew Kearney

FRAMINGHAM, Massachusetts , December 16, 2013 (press release) – The worldwide large format printer market grew 6.2% year over year with 77.7 thousand units shipped in the third quarter of 2013 (3Q13), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Large Format Printer Tracker. This quarter's market growth marks the first time since the first quarter of 2011 where both units and shipment value achieved year-over-year gains. IDC quantified the total 3Q13 market value at $802.8 million, an increase of 6.2% year over year.

The overall growth was fueled by solid demand from the two largest geographic markets, the United States and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan)(APeJ). The U.S. had year-over-year growth of 16.5% in units and 8.4% in shipment value while APeJ enjoyed a 20.9% gain in units and 8.4% in shipment value.

"Epson was one of the main growth engines in the APeJ market. The password encryption on Epson print heads benefited Epson itself, as well as Roland, Mimaki and Mutoh who OEM from Epson. The encryption was established in December 2012 and helped to prevent other Chinese brands from using Epson print heads to develop their own machines," said Phuong Hang, Program Director, Worldwide Large Format Printer Tracker.

Technology Highlights

The technical application segment grew 5.7% to 45.9 thousand units shipped, and accounted for 59.1% share of the total LFP market in the third quarter, unchanged from a year ago. Seven out of eight regional markets showed year-over-year unit growth in this segment with the Middle East & Africa (MEA) leading the pack at 23.8%, followed by the U.S. at 15.4% and Japan at 12.7%.
The graphics application segment also showed a year-over-year gain in 3Q13, increasing 6.9% to 31.8 thousand units and accounting for 40.9% share of the overall market. The two largest regional markets, APeJ and the U.S., were among the four regional markets that posted year-over-year growth, 19.8% and 18.0%, respectively. The other two regions that expanded year over year were Japan and MEA.
Vendor Highlights

HP continued as the number one ranked vendor in 3Q13 with worldwide large format printer market share of 39.1% and 30.5 thousand units shipped, which is a -1.4% decline year over year. The vendor posted year-over-year growth in four regional markets, including APeJ and the U.S., with 15.0% and 13.4%, respectively.

Epson climbed up one spot from last quarter to become the number two ranked vendor. Epson grew 13.5% year over year to 16.6 thousand units shipped, resulting in 21.4% share. This performance was driven by double-digit year-over-year growth in the U.S. (51.4%), APeJ (34.2%), Japan (22.4%), and MEA (16.8%).

Canon moved down one spot from last quarter to the number three position worldwide. The vendor increased 12.4% year over year to 16.4 thousand units and 21.1% share. Canon had a year-over-year increase in all regions except for Western Europe. The top three regions in terms of year-over-year growth were Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) at 46.7%, APeJ at 35.5%, and Canada at 17.3%.

Roland strengthened its position as the number four vendor in the worldwide large format printer market with 20.9% year-over-year growth and 2.7 thousand units shipped. Other than Europe, the vendor posted year-over-year gains in all other regions with MEA being the leader in terms of year-over-year growth at 50.0%, followed by APeJ at 45.7% and Latin America at 45.1%.

Ricoh continued as the number five vendor for the third consecutive quarter with over 2 thousand units shipped and 2.6% share. The vendor's shipments increased 22.1% year over year, the best year-over-year performance among the top 5, and posted positive shipment growth in all regions except for Latin America. All of Ricoh's top three regional markets expanded year over year including Japan growing at 3.8%, the U.S. at 45.1%, and APeJ at 20.4%.

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