North American and European Surge Suppressor Growth Continues Despite Economy

The combined consumption of power line surge suppressors in North America and Europe will increase from $978 million in 2001 to nearly $1.5 billion by 2006, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8%. Unit growth rates are forecast for somewhat faster growth increasing from 58 million units in 2001 to 105 million units in 2004, a CAGR of 12.6%.

In general, growth will be driven by:

Increasing awareness among end-users of the need for surge suppression in applications other than PCs (e.g. audio/video and home shop).
Greater functionality and more features being included in plug-in surge suppressors including expanded data line protection, more peripheral on/off options, better warning mechanisms indicating a worn out surge suppressor and the growth of other value added features.
Deregulation, grid reliability, and power quality issues are beginning to affect the bottom line of companies in a variety of industries. As these companies realize the benefits of surge suppression and slowly recover from a recessed economy, they will create demand for the hard-wired surge suppressor market.
Better understanding on the part of both consulting engineers and end users, through both vendors and the media, of the advantages of facility-wide surge protection.

FORECAST OF NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN CONSUMPTION OF POWER LINE SURGE SUPPRESSORS
(Dollars in Millions)
North America 2001: 780.4
2002: 763.7
2003: 807.2
2004: 878.2
2005: 959.0
2006: 1,048.0
Europe
2001: 197.5
2002: 213.2
2003: 251.2
2004: 300.2
2005: 362.4
2006: 439.7

Line cord surge suppressors have by far the largest share of the North American surge suppressor market. Line cords are expected to remain the most popular surge suppression device due not only to the wide range of products and grades available, but because they offer more flexibility and utility than other types. Wall plug products are forecast to grow at a rate slower than line cords while power control centers are expected to exhibit a decline. Power control centers are suffering from both high prices compared to other surge suppressor types and changing CPU and monitor form factors.

Hard-wired surge suppressors are forecast for a growth rate slower than that of line cord types in both North America and Europe. VDC has found that the greater dependence on microprocessor-based devices in business and industry, as well as in the home, is resulting in increased demand for hard-wired surge suppression devices. Currently, hard-wired surge suppressors account for the largest share of shipments to the European market. This is expected to change over the next five years as line cord products will dramatically increase in market share due to increasing awareness of the need for power protection, low cost, and the utility associated with having multiple outlets and a long power cord. This market is still in an early stage of development relative to the North American market, and therefore is expected to experience very fast growth over the next few years. The growth for hard-wired surge suppressors will be considerably less than that of line cord and wall plug products through 2006. The European hard-wired market is well established and relatively mature compared to the plug-in side of the industry.