US Specialty Gas Demand to Reach $3.4 Billion in 2013

Specialty gas demand in the US is forecast to expand 3.5 percent per year to $3.4 billion in 2013.  The manufacturing, electronics and health care sectors account for the greatest share of specialty gas demand, combining for 87 percent of the total in 2008.  The dominance of these sectors will continue, though weakness in the US electronics industry -- once a specialty gas growth market -- will limit demand for silane gases, high purity nitrogen and hydrogen, halogen gases, and others used in the production of semiconductors and other electronic components. These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in Specialty Gases, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

The health care industry, in contrast, will be the fastest growing specialty gas segment.  This industry uses significant amounts of specialty gases in analytical, diagnostic and imaging equipment; for institutional and home respiratory therapies; for equipment and instrument sterilization; for dental and general surgical anesthesia; as imaging contrasts; and in many other applications.  Ongoing research into new applications, as well as a rapidly growing 55 years and older population cohort, will help fuel specialty gas demand growth by the health care sector.

Manufacturing will remain the largest consumer of specialty gases, comprising about 44 percent of total demand.  Applications for specialty gases in general manufacturing are extremely diverse.  The chemical industry uses large quantities of specialty gases as intermediate feedstocks in the manufacture of many chemicals; the food industry uses specialty gases for food processing, packaging and refrigeration; manufacturers of thermal windows use noble gases as fill gases between glass panes; and lighting and laser manufacturers also use significant amounts of specialty gases.

Inert atmosphere/purge gases used, for example, in food processing and semiconductor manufacturing are the largest application for specialty gases, representing 19 percent of demand in 2008.  Second by application are specialty gases used for instrument calibration, environmental monitoring and other analytical processes, which accounted for 14 percent of specialty gas demand in 2008.  Analytical gases will grow more rapidly than other applications due to the increasing need to monitor pollutants, maximize production efficiency, monitor product quality, render diagnoses, etc.  There are countless other applications for specialty gases, ranging from precursor and dopant gases used in electronics to medical imaging applications.

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.