Thick Film Resistors, Worldwide Market Outlook to 2025

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The thick film resistor market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.06% during the forecast period, to reach a market size of $615 million by 2025 from $435 million in 2018.

Market growth can be attributed to factors such as increasing demand for high performance electronics and electrical products, rising high speed data requirements, stringency in passenger safety norms, and growing comfort and convenience requirements. On the other hand, overall fall of commodity devices and reduced manufacturers profit margins are few concerns of this market.

The thick film power and shunt resistor market is dominated by a few global players and comprises several regional players. Some of the key players in the thick film power and shunt resistor market are Yageo (Taiwan), Vishay (US), KOA Corporation (Japan), Panasonic (Japan), Rohm (Japan), TE Connectivity (Switzerland), and Bourns (US).

Even though the electrical and electronics industry lead the overall resistor market, in case of thick film and shunt resistor, automotive segment is set to the lead the market. This is because of the usage of these resistors in various application such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), body electronics & lighting, powertrain, infotainment & telematics, and electric and hybrid vehicles. The demand for these applications is driven by two factors - vehicular safety & fuel economy norms and shifting inclination towards comfort features.

Europe and North America have rigorous regulations due to which the installation of safety regulations become mandatory. Also, the demand for premium vehicles, which have high-end safety and comfort features such as electronic stability control (ESC), adaptive cruise control, and adaptive headlights, is also higher in these regions. Additionally, commercial vehicles segment is gradually adopting these features, especially in Asia Oceania. All of these factors would impel the OEMs to install more electronic circuits in vehicles, which will subsequently spur the demand for thick film and shunt resistors in automotive segment.

Shunt resistor is projected to be one of the fastest growing market during the period 2018-2025. Electrical products such as energy meters, smart meters, LED controls, battery chargers, and industrial machinery are some electrical devices where shunt resistors are widely required to measure the current flow.

Global manufacturers are expanding their manufacturing capability towards the developing nations due to low labor wages along with attractive tax exemptions. This would drive the power requirement, and to support it, the demand for electrical products will also grow. As shunt resistors provide higher reliability, accuracy, and performance while measuring the current flow, these would be an appropriate component to satisfy the requirement.

Europe is estimated to be the prominent market for thick film and shunt resistor owing to the inclination towards technological innovations, increasing R&D investments by big companies, higher purchasing power, and high demand for environment-friendly and energy-efficient products.

Thick film and shunt resistors are widely used in several applications including automotive, power, consumer electronics, and industrial which have shown promising growth in recent years mainly in Germany, France, Italy, and UK. Further, major telecom giants in Europe such as Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefnica, and Orange are increasing their investment on 5G trials, which will prompt the demand of telecom and base station equipment. The growth of electronics and electrical products in automotive, industrial, and telecom sectors would also drive the thick film and shunt resistor market in this region.

Asia Oceania region is anticipated to be the fastest growing market for thick film and shunt resistor during the forecast period. Increasing urbanization, rising disposable income, foreign direct investment (FDI) policies, and growing ecommerce activities are expected to drive the demand in this region. China, Japan, South Korea, and India are the main consumers of electronic and automotive products.

According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) statistics, India became the world largest telecommunications market with ~1.20 billion subscribers, as of December 2018. Also, smart city and infrastructural development programs are driving the market growth in Asian countries. Most of the regional resistor manufacturers such as Yageo, Panasonic, Rohm, and Koa Corporation are catering to the thick film and shunt resistor demand in Asia countries. The growth in these markets would parallelly impel the thick film and shunt resistor market.