NanoMarkets Report Projects Slight Decline in Silver Pastes Market Over Next Seven Years, With Major Changes in Product Mix and Trouble in Some Markets

GLEN ALLEN, Va., Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets is announcing the release of its latest report on industrial silver markets, "Silver Inks and Pastes – 2012."  In the report, NanoMarkets estimates that the total market for silver inks and pastes will grow to a value of about $7.6 billion in 2012, but that it will contract over the forecast period to about $6.8 billion by 2018. 

The report is the latest in the firm's ongoing coverage of the silver inks and pastes markets that dates back to 2005 and follows recent 2011 releases on nanosilver, silver powders and flakes and silver transparent conductors.  It analyzes the opportunities for silver inks and pastes in all the relevant, major markets for these materials, including PV, displays, lighting, RFIDs, sensors, and traditional thick film applications. The report also discusses the strategies of some of the leading suppliers of silver inks and pastes including Cima NanoTech, Creative Materials, DuPont, Ferro, Harima, Henkel, Heraeus, InkTec, Methode, Sun Chemical and others and includes detailed forecasts for the materials in both volume and value terms and broken out by application, by material type, and by printing method.

Additional details about the report are available at www.nanomarkets.net.

From the report:

Several factors are contributing to a declining market value for silver inks and pastes.

Persistently high silver prices are negatively impacting the business.  Companies simply do not have the means to simply pass on price increases to their customers and those same customers are looking very hard for ways to reduce or eliminate the use of silver. 

While photovoltaics have been a strong market for silver inks and pastes up until now, NanoMarkets points to slowing overall growth in the PV business and the shift towards thin-film PV which does not use nearly as much silver as traditional crystalline silicon PV.  Our forecasts suggest that as early as 2013, the value of silver inks and pastes consumed by the PV sector will start to decline. 

The emergence of LCD and LED displays have forced plasma display (PDP) makers into an extremely competitive situation where price is key.  And since PDPs have been a significant user of printed silver, the silver ink and paste makers are facing additional challenges in what was a strong market for them.

Finally, while manufacturers of membrane switches, printed circuit boards, capacitors, etc. will still use large quantities of silver inks and pastes, it is also clear that they will be looking for more profitable markets and products which indicates a strong trend toward higher value-added inks that target specific niches. 

On the positive side, while new inks will take some time to develop, they will help to keep margins high in those silver ink and paste products that are being sold.  In addition, the market will be looking at the next "applications wave" that it can ride in the way that it has ridden PV for the last five years.  Possibilities are flexible displays, OLED lighting, and the sensors market, which is growing in both the (bio)medical sensors area and in everyday, ubiquitous electronics applications that seek to create a world of pervasive computing and contextual user feedback.

About NanoMarkets:

NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in energy, electronics and other markets created by developments in advanced materials. The firm is a recognized leader in industry analysis and forecasts for the silver inks and pastes business and has been covering this market for more than five years.

Visit www.nanomarkets.net for a full listing of NanoMarkets' reports and other services.

Contact:

Robert Nolan
NanoMarkets LC
(804) 360-2967
[email protected]

SOURCE NanoMarkets