Market trends are an important indication of the future of a given industry, and medical manufacturing has displayed strong growth in recent years. Many economic analysts predict this industry-wide uptick to carry through the year and beyond. We know that medical manufacturing plays a crucial role in delivering essential supplies and tools to hospitals, clinics and health professionals, but what’s the cause for this most recent period of growth? There are several factors at play.
TRENDS IN SUPPLY AND DEMAND
In the second half of 2017, the rate of growth of new orders outpaced production, and this is expected to continue throughout 2018. The main reason why the rate of production is struggling to keep up with order demand is that suppliers are unresponsive to new orders, creating a production gap. This issue is likely to resolve itself as manufacturers become more responsive and invest to increase their capacity. Data gathered from industry leaders in medical manufacturing at the beginning of 2018 found that companies projected a 40% increase in capital spending from last year’s figures.
VARIOUS FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MARKET GROWTH
- Generational factors: As our population ages, our need for medical equipment and supplies increases. The youngest members of the Baby Boomer generation will turn 65 in 2025 and more than 20% of the U.S. population will be over 65 by 2030. This creates an enormous and growing demand for manufactured medical products.
- Technological advancements: Medical procedures and technologies have come a long way in the last several decades, and medical manufacturers and researchers are constantly finding ways to make equipment that’s safer, more effective, and more efficient. With these rapid advancements, new products are constantly on order to replace the old, and this isn’t likely to stop any time soon.
- Export markets: Medical manufacturing in the United States is not simply a domestic industry. Manufacturers have successfully established an export market in response to demand from countries around the world.
- Workforce availability: The Medical manufacturing industry employs over 80,000 people and companies have been able to retain a highly-skilled workforce. Employees working in medical manufacturing have to undergo specific training and must have certain expertise, reducing the rate of turnover industry-wide.
KASO MEDICAL MANUFACTURING
At KASO Plastics, we specialize in all kinds of plastics manufacturing services including injection molding of medical devices and other components. We understand how important it is for medical products to be manufactured with an exceptional degree of quality and our team is trained to do just that. Contact us to find out more about our experience with medical device injection molding services.