Impact of COVID-19 on the mass flow controller market Research Report

COVID-19 has severely impacted the global economy and all the industries throughout the globe. This is due to the disruptions in the supply chain across the globe. The economies across the world have declined as there is a major decline in the demand for products.  

Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=7748578

The production across industries has been limited due to the pandemic resulting in the shortage of raw material, the decline in exports, and the disruptions in the supply chain are the major factors contributing to the decline in the production. Most of the revenue generated in the mass flow controller market is from the pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and food & beverage industries. As the mass flow controllers are directly proportional to manufacturing activities, the mass flow controller market is thus getting affected by COVID-19. This has resulted in a lower estimated year-on-year growth rate for 2020 as compared with 2019.

Market Dynamics

DRIVERS: Current and Post-COVID-19 growth prospects in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries

With the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are posed to fight one of the fastest-spreading health crises of the world. There is a rise in the production of all critical medical devices required to cure COVID-19 patients. Mass flow controllers play an essential role in the quality control of different types of medical devices, and several key industry players have grabbed the opportunity to fight against the deadly coronavirus pandemic. For instance, RedySmart mass flow controllers of Sierra Instruments provide critical gas flow control systems for bioreactors to scale vaccines from lab to pilot to full-scale production. Furthermore, the enhanced focus on the Industrial Internet Of Things (IIoT), smart factory, and industrial automation in the post-COVID-19 period will drive the demand for controller technologies and sophisticated process technologies, such as flow metering and control.

RESTRAINT Variations in differential pressure create offset in flow measurement

A mass flow controller has an internal control valve that automatically and continuously maintains the flow at the desired rate; however, this internal control valve operates accurately only with limited differential pressure. The internal mechanism of a control valve uses a spring that limits fluctuations in the differential pressure across the valve. Drastic fluctuations in the differential pressure cause tuning and range-related problems in control valves, resulting in a constant offset.

Factors such as tuning issues and high fluctuations in differential pressure create problems for high-pressure applications. For example, in research reactors, the pressure needs to be changed during testing, or these reactors may require the dispensed gas to generate initial reactor pressure. In this case, there is a major change in the differential pressure that can cause inaccurate flow. For a few specific applications, the outlet pressure has to be significantly higher than the specified and configured pressure of the mass flow controller; this mainly causes tuning and flow range problems.

OPPORTUNITIES: Growing opportunities in pharmaceutical and medical equipment

Several applications in medical and pharmaceutical industries require efficient and reliable measurement of gas or liquid flow. For example, ventilation devices used during emergency treatment are required for providing an optimum flow of oxygen to the ailing patient. In this case, the performance capability of mass flow controllers is crucial. Also, controllers used in medical equipment must be significantly faster than those used in industrial applications as these controllers need to follow the patient’s breathing pattern. Technologically advanced devices in medical and healthcare industries are extending the life expectancy of people. Thus, the requirement of mobile medical system solutions during emergencies, transport, and disaster scenarios are likely to provide huge opportunities to mass flow controller manufacturers.

CHALLENGES Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mass flow controller end-user industries

From a single case in China to a global pandemic in less than three months, the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has forced governments worldwide to take drastic measures to protect public health. This global health crisis has also dented economic growth prospects and upended the oil market. The oil markets have been supported by additional production adjustments put in place by OPEC and non-OPEC countries in the Declaration of Cooperation for the first quarter of 2020. In the last week of March and the entire April, all the indices have deteriorated in terms of economy, stocks, equities, financial instruments, metals, commodities, and oil. Since the beginning of 2020, crude oil prices have been decreasing dramatically. Consumer demand has declined following the continued spread of the virus and has negatively impacted the economy, which, in turn, led to disagreements between 2 of the largest oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, in early March. All these factors are expected to lead to a setback in the mass flow controller market in the oil & gas industry. Oil & gas is one of the key end-user industries for the mass flow controller market.

“Pharmaceuticals industry to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period”

Mass flow controllers with low flow rates play a vital role in the pharmaceutical industry for the measurement and control of different media (gas and liquid). For example, in the medical application, mass flow controllers are used in ventilation devices. The ultra-low flow measurement and control capability of the controllers improve the accuracy of ventilation devices and offer efficient control and safety for patients. The use of mass flow controllers in pharmaceuticals, medical, and healthcare devices for enhancing safety and accuracy would drive the growth of the mass flow controller market.

“Low flow rate mass flow controller to hold the largest share of mass flow controller market by 2024”

Owing to the growth of the market for low flow rate mass flow controllers, many companies are investing in its development. Low flow rate mass flow controllers are used in industries, namely, semiconductors, chemicals, and food & beverages, for various critical applications in which high precision and stability are essential. For example, in laboratory research processes of the chemicals industry, various sub-processes such as testing and heat treatment need low flow rate mass flow controllers. Also, in the semiconductor chip manufacturing for the doping process, it is essential to control the flow of deposition media at a very low flow rate.

“Mass flow controller market in APAC to grow at the highest CAGR”

The mass flow controller market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. APAC is expected to dominate the market due to factors such as increasing population, emerging economies, and rising adoption of mass flow controllers across different end-use industries such as semiconductors, oil & gas, medical, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. Increasing investments in the semiconductors industry and rising demand for efficient devices for measurement and control, and industrial automation are among the major factors driving the growth of the market in this region. Most of the key players operating in the mass flow controller market have their production capacity in APAC as the production cost in this region is lower than that of other regions.