For Q1 2024, the Lab Analytical and Life Science markets continued to contract owing to softness in CapEx, adjusting for heightened demand over the past few years. Many of the of the largest companies/divisions in the industry experienced notable declines in revenues, with Thermo Fisher Life Science Solutions, Agilent, and Merck Science and Lab Solutions down 12.5%, 8.4%, and 8.3%, respectively. Conversely, the Process Analytical market experienced high single-digit growth in the first quarter. As expected, demand from the pharma/bio and chemicals industries fell, while the semiconductor and petrochemicals markets experienced strong growth.

…markets appear to be bottoming out and are expected to return to positive growth in the near future.

The Lab Analytical and Life Science Tools markets appear to be bottoming out and are expected to return to positive growth in the near future. However, as a result of geopolitical conflicts (e.g., Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Hamas, South China Sea), upcoming 2024 elections, and uncertainties surrounding public funding and research investment, the path to recovery may be a bit longer than anticipated. The ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index remains below 50 (May: 48.7, Apr: 49.2), signaling more contraction for Q2 2024.

About TDA’s Industry Growth Indices

TDA’s Industry Growth Indices are available on its data dashboard. Members can easily benchmark quarterly growth across three broad markets: Lab Analytical, Life Science Tools, and Process Analytical Instrumentation.

The Lab Analytical Index tracks global demand for laboratory products that are used for analytical testing. The Life Science Tools Index measures global consumption of life science research products that support workflows for DNA, protein and cellular analysis. Process Analytical Index monitors global demand for process analytical instruments (PAI).

The quarterly growth indices are based on import/export data from major manufacturing sectors: pharmaceuticals, chemicals, petrochemicals, semiconductor and other industries. These sectors represent the primary consumers of laboratory products, life science tools, and process instrumentation. The indices’ algorithms incorporate shipments and values of key product segments such as analytical instrumentation, process control, reagents, and cell culture products.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact TDA.

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