ShareWorld refrigerating compressor market gets the green light
According to JARN1, global demand for all types of refrigerating compressors increased substantially in 2017 compared to 2016, confirming the robustness of the refrigeration equipment market, illustrated by the by 9.3% year-on-year increase of the global air conditioner market in 2017 (see March 2018 IIR Newsletter).
The global rotary compressor market amounted to 188.1 million units, showing 31.3% year-on-year growth in 2017. The rotary compressor market scale in 2017 amounted to 134.1 million units in China, 18.2 million in Southeast Asia, 4.5 million in India, 3.3 million in Japan, 2.2 million in the Middle East and in Brazil, 2.1 million in Europe and 1.6 million in the USA. Rotary compressors have been expanding their application range from air conditioners to heat pumps and refrigeration markets. Thanks to inverter technology, rotary compressor efficiency has improved during part-load operation to meet higher Minimum Energy Performance Standards in key countries.
Excluding the volume for internal supply, the global market volume of scroll compressors reached 14.9 million units, indicating 6.2% growth in 2017. Scroll compressors benefit from the significant opportunity that has been created by a higher demand for air conditioning systems such as VRFs and chillers as well as heat pumps and refrigeration equipment.
Demand for semi-hermetic reciprocating compressors reached 485,000 units in 2017, an increase of 11.6% compared with 2016. Reciprocating compressors for air conditioners saw a drop in sales, but sales for refrigeration applications, especially in cold storage, have continued to rise year after year.
The global screw compressor market totalled 90,000 units in 2017.The Chinese, US and European markets increased by 3.6%, 1.1%, and 1.1% respectively. Screw compressors are experiencing a negative growth rate for air conditioning applications, due to penetration into their capacity range partly by scroll compressors and, to a further extent, centrifugal compressors.
The world market scale for centrifugal chillers is estimated to have reached 18,000 units in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%, driven by growth in China, the USA and South Korea. With the adoption of multi-stage and inverter technologies, centrifugal chiller efficiency has improved. And with oil-free and modularization technologies, the flexibility of centrifugal chillers allows them to meet various requirements.