Worldwide shipments of industrial printers declined 11,6% year over year to 78 500 units in the fourth quarter of 2022 (4Q22), according to results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker.
Results for the full year 2022 were also down, with shipments declining 12,9% compared to 2021.
“The fourth quarter was soft and concluded a down year for the sector overall,” says Tim Greene, research director: hardcopy solutions at IDC. “For much of the industrial printing market China is a key manufacturing center, so while the region is opening up now, for most of 2022 the market in China was slow and limited worldwide growth.
“2022 is a prime example of how growth, driven by digital transformation, is not linear and can be disrupted by macro events.”
Highlights for the quarter include:
* Large format digital printer shipments declined 1,6% compared to the previous quarter (3Q22) and 11,7% year over year.
* Direct-to-garment (DTG) printer shipments grew 4,7% sequentially and 8,4% year over year in 4Q22.
* Direct-to-shape printer shipments saw a modest decline of 2,2% compared to Q3 2022 and 6,6% year over year.
* Worldwide shipments in the industrial textile segment declined almost 15% sequentially and nearly 50% compared to the full year 2021.
* Industrial digital label & packaging printer shipments declined 15,9% compared to Q3 2022 and 8,9% year over year.
Shipments in the Central & Eastern European and Western European markets were bright spots with double-digit shipment growth for both regions in Q4 2022. China saw shipments decline 21% compared to Q3 2022. 4Q22 shipments in North America (US and Canada) were down 6% compared to 3Q22.
The strongest growth was in the Middle East and Africa region, which saw shipment growth of 36% compared to Q3 2022.
| Worldwide Industrial Printer Shipment Share, Shipment Value Share, and Sequential Growth by Product Category, Q4 2022 | ||||
| Product Category | 4Q22 Share of Shipments | 4Q22/3Q22 Shipment change | 4Q22 Share of Shipment Value | 4Q22/3Q22 Shipment Value Growth |
| Direct to Garment | 2.3% | +4.7% | 4.4% | +0.2% |
| Direct to Shape | 1.4% | -3.2% | 3.0% | +0.5% |
| Industrial Textile | 0.5% | -14.9% | 5.0% | -1% |
| Label & Packaging | 0.4% | -15.9% | 14.9% | -4.4% |
| Large Format | 95.4% | -1.6% | 72.8% | +0.3% |
| Total | 100% | 1.9% | 100% | -0.5% |
| Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, March 2022 | ||||
Highlights for the full year include:
* Large format digital printer shipments declined 12,9% on a worldwide basis compared to 2021.
* Direct-to-garment (DTG) printer shipments fell 6,8% year over year driven by slower shipments outside of North America.
* Direct-to-shape printer shipments fell 5% compared to 2021 primarily on softness in China and Western Europe.
* The industrial textile printer market, which is heavily influenced by the market in China, saw the steepest decline with shipments down 45% compared to 2021.
* Industrial digital label & packaging printer shipments declined 5,4% year over year in 2022.
Shipments in the Central & Eastern European market were down 35% in 2022 as global vendors limited their activities in the region due to the war in the Ukraine. Shipments in China declined by 46% for 2022 compared to 2021.
Shipments in North America (US and Canada) were effectively flat from 2021 to 2022.
Shipments in the Middle East and Africa regions grew 25% in 2022 compared to 2021. Shipments in the Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan and China) grew 10% year over year in 2022.