Growth in the merchant power supply market was curtailed in the second half of 2011 by continuing economic problems.

Source: IMS Research (IHS Inc.)

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Growth in the merchant power supply market was curtailed in the second half of 2011 by continuing economic problems. Despite this, the market grew by 6.5%; however, this was just two-thirds of the growth initially projected in the first half of the year. IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS Inc., projects a strong 2012, with revenue growth forecast to reach 9.3% according to its latest report analysing the ac-dc and dc-dc merchant power supply markets.

The strong revenue growth forecast for 2012 will drive the market to a total of almost $23 billion. IMS Research projects positive growth annually through 2016, although at a slower rate owing to the impact that adoption of the Wired Universal Charging Solution for cell phones is predicted to have on the overall market beginning in 2014. According to the report, the three fastest growing markets for power supplies over the next five years will be lighting, tablet PCs and storage (for servers). The lighting market in particular is forecast to grow rapidly due to the widespread adoption of LED lighting.

Report author and market analyst Jonathon Eykyn commented: "Although these three applications only account for a calculated 0.6% of the market in 2012, IMS Research forecasts that they will outperform the rest of the market by some margin. In 2016 we project they will account for 15.1% of the total market and provide an opportunity manufacturers cannot overlook."

The individual global market rankings for the top six merchant power supply manufacturers remained unchanged in 2011, although collectively they grew slightly slower than the overall market. Out of the top ten suppliers, seven were Asian, two were American and one was European. GE Energy (through its acquisition of Lineage Power) and ZTE were new entries to the top ten global ac-dc and dc-dc market rankings and ZTE is the first Chinese supplier to make the list.

Eykyn added, "The Chinese merchant power supply market is forecast to overtake the North American market in 2014 to become the largest market in the world. This means that it is likely that we’ll see more Chinese suppliers follow ZTE into the top ten."

The report The World Market for AC-DC and DC-DC Merchant Power Supplies – 2012 Edition builds on more than 10 years of research on the merchant power supplies market by IMS Research. This year’s edition continues to provide a detailed and unbiased assessment of the ac-dc and dc-dc merchant power supply market. The study quantifies the total market for commodity ac-dc power supplies, non-commodity ac-dc power supplies and dc-dc converters. It is also provides breakdowns by major region, application, package type, power rating, sales channel as well as many more.