Handheld Thermal Imager Market Expected to Reach $9.1 Billion by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Handheld Thermal Imager Market," The handheld thermal imager market was valued at $3.7 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $9.1 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2022 to 2031.

In 2021, Asia-Pacific region is dominating the market in terms of revenue, followed by Europe, North America, and LAMEA. China dominated the handheld thermal imager market in 2021, whereas India is expected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period. The growth of handheld thermal imager is attributed to amplify spending on armed forces across the globe. This increased spending is aimed at equipping the armed forces with advanced military gear, including these cameras, to efficiently conduct surveillance and security operations. Moreover, the region has major players offering advanced solutions. This is attributed to extensive adoption of advanced technology by the region, which is expected to propel the market growth.

There are prominent key factors that drive the growth of the handheld thermal imager market, such as increase in adoption of thermal imaging for quality control & inspection, and increase in use of thermal imager for safety & security. The market economy is also responsible for the growth of the market. Countries such as China, India, Brazil, and South Africa are developing economies. Thus, the manufacturing, automotive and defense sector exhibits prominent growth in these countries, which is expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the market. Also, in some undeveloped countries, there is an increase in the vehicle production and growth of aviation sector, which is expected to boost the handheld thermal imager market.

The handheld thermal imager market is segmented basis of end use industry, product type, application, wavelength type and region. By end use industry, it is divided into defense, public safety, industrial, and others. By product type, it is bifurcated into cooled thermal imager, and uncooled thermal imager. By application, it is classified into security and surveillance, monitoring and inspection, and detection and measurement. By wavelength type, it is categorized into LWIR, MWIR, and SWIR. By region, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and LAMEA.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

• The COVID-19 impact on the handheld thermal imagers market is unpredictable, and is expected to remain in force for a few years.
• The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments across the globe to implement stringent lockdown and ban import–export of raw materials items for most of 2020 and few months in 2021. This led to sudden fall in the availability of important raw materials for manufacturing handheld thermal imager.
• Moreover, nationwide lockdown forced handheld thermal imager manufacturing facilities to partially or completely shut their operations.
• Disturbance in critical business operations such as manufacturing, limited supply chain, and reduced operating capacity has significantly led to delay in several existing defense modernizations and new product development activities. Adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in delays in activities and initiatives regarding development of advanced handheld thermal imager globally.
• The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has positively influenced the thermal imaging cameras market growth. This is attributed to increase in use of thermal camera in crowded public places to monitor social distancing. In addition, these cameras are highly used in different sectors such as health, food, and security. Thus, surge in installation of thermal cameras during the pandemic notably contributed toward the market growth.
• However, the demand for thermal cameras declined from the manufacturing sector, owing to partial or full lockdown in various regions across the globe. However, the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has led industries to develop safety and health protection measures.
• Thermal imaging has arisen as a preferred contactless, cost-effective solution to safeguard workplace safety and inhibit further spread of the virus. Thermal imaging cameras have now become an indispensable part of a surveillance equipment system for any business. Consequently, there is significant investment in procuring the thermal imagers at workplaces

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

• By end use industry, the defense segment is expected to register a significant growth during the forecast period.
• By product type, the uncooled thermal imager segment is anticipated to exhibit significant growth in future.
• By application, the detection & measurement segment is anticipated to exhibit significant growth in future.
• By wavelength type, the SWIR segment is anticipated to exhibit significant growth in future.
• Region wise, Asia-Pacific is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The key players that operate in this handheld thermal imager market are American Technologies Network Corporation, Axis Communications AB, BAE Systems Plc., Elbit Systems Ltd., Fluke Corporation, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., Leonardo S.p.A., Opgal Optronic Industries Ltd., Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Safran S.A., Seek Thermal Inc., Teledyne FLIR LLC, Testo SE & Co. KGaA, Thales Group, and Thermoteknix Systems Ltd..