ANN ARBOR, Michigan, May 13, 2009—CIMdata estimates that based on end-user payments, the worldwide NC software and related services market grew by 5.2% in 2008 to reach a level of $1.47 billion. CIMdata further projects that in 2009, the growth rate of these payments will slow to 1.3% as the market approaches the $1.5 billion level. The expected reduction in the market growth rate in 2009 is a direct result of a downturn in the global economy—specifically the manufacturing industry.
Since a similar downturn in the 2000 to 2002 period, the NC software has shown modest but steady growth as global economies improved. There was worldwide growth in the sale of machine tools and manufacturing output, greater emphasis was placed on the efficient operation of machine tools as manufacturing firms strengthen their competitive position, and the overall PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) market, of which CAM is a component, continued on a strong growth path. CAM software purchases are directly related to all of these factors. The size and growth of the NC software and related services market based on end-user payments is shown in the chart below. It can also be seen that approximately one-third of the end-user payments result in reseller revenues and approximately two-thirds of the revenues are payments to software vendors.
Size and Composition of the NC Market
The above information is contained in Version 18 of the CIMdata NC Software and Related Services Market Assessment Report that is now available for purchase from CIMdata. Mr. Alan Christman, CIMdata Chairman and primary author of the report, commented, ''Even though the CAM software market (software to control machine tools cutting parts) is a relatively mature market, it has been active and exciting for the past several years. Some software vendors have had annual revenue growth rates of more than 30% per year, a number of significant acquisitions or mergers have been made, integration with other elements of manufacturing software is occurring, new manufacturing areas such as China are emerging, corporations are placing greater emphasis on streamlining manufacturing operations, and the underlying CAM software technology continues to evolve.''
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