Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US - Market Research Report (2014-2029)
New York, United States
Last Updated: July 2024
NAICS 33451aRevenue
$125.7bn
Past 5-Year Growth
Profit
$X.Xbn
Employees
267k
Businesses
3,241
Wages
$XX.Xbn
Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry analysis
Demand for navigational instruments is driven by their downstream markets. Diversification of downstream buyers helped to partially shield the industry from extreme swings in downstream demand. While the industry showed resilience through COVID-19, revenue still fell at a CAGR of 1.3% through the end of 2024 to reach $125.7 billion, including an expected boost of 3.4% in 2024 alone. Profit shrunk to an expected 6.7% of revenue in 2024, down from 7.1% in 2019.
Trends and Insights
- Government spending has propped up demand for the industry. As COVID-19 crushed all other spouts of demand, funding for US defense and transportation remained. Government spending will continue to support demand moving forward.
- Import penetration remains a constant threat to manufacturers who do not deal with the US defense industry. Foreign products surged during the period, reducing domestic demand, especially for analytical laboratory equipment.
- California supplies the industry with two crucial things: Offering one of the largest downstream markets, in the form of a massive home buying population, and the tech capital of the world, showing why California and the West remain the most highly concentrated region.
- A fragmented industry keeps overall market share low since much of the industry deals with only a few specific products. For example, manufacturers producing analytical laboratory equipment and electricity measuring and testing instruments remain highly competitive due to the fragmented nature of these product lines.
Industry Overview
Market size and recent performance (2014-2029)
Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 1.3 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $125.7bn in 2024.
Trends and Insights
Two large downstream markets will sustain demand throughout the period
- The US defense industry is a crucial downstream market for navigational instrument manufacturers and has increased rapidly during the period. Navigational instruments are used in a wide range of military equipment, including aircraft, ships, tanks, and missiles. They are also used by military personnel on the ground to navigate and communicate.
- Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Source: IBISWorld
Industry outlook (2024-2029)
Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.
Trends and Insights
Revenue growth will be offset by several negative trends
- The US defense and transportation industries are two crucial downstream markets for the industry. Downstream demand will falter as US defense and transportation funding falls during the period.
Biggest companies in the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US
| Company | Market Share (%)
2024 | Revenue ($m)
2024 | Profit ($m)
2024 | Profit Margin (%)
2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
UTC | 6,701.3 | -42.7 | -0.6 | |
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | 3,795.1 | 869.9 | 22.9 | |
Honeywell International Inc. | 3,706.9 | 553.8 | 14.9 |
To view the market share and analysis for all 58 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.
Products & Services Segmentation
Source: IBISWorld
Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Search, detection and navigation instruments, Automatic environmental control instruments and Industrial process control instruments. Search, detection and navigation instruments is the largest segment of the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US.
Trends and Insights
Search, detection and navigational remain in the majority
- Major products under this segment include radar, radio detection and ranging; sonar, or sound navigation ranging; gyroscopes; and airborne navigational systems. Also included are transmitters and displays, fathometers, stationary compasses, drift meters and sextants.
- More insights available in the full report
Widen you competitive advantage with related industries
Competitors
- Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US
- Alarm, Horn & Traffic Control Equipment Manufacturing in the US
- Electrical Equipment Manufacturing in the US
- Wiring Device Manufacturing in the US
Complementors
- Plastic Products Miscellaneous Manufacturing in the US
- Glass Product Manufacturing in the US
- Copier & Optical Machinery Manufacturing in the US
International industries
- Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in Canada
- Measurement and Other Scientific Equipment Manufacturing in Australia
- Measuring, Testing & Navigational Equipment Manufacturing in the UK
Table of Contents
About this industry
Industry definition
The Navigational Instrument Manufacturing industry manufactures navigational, measuring and control instruments. Its products include aeronautical instruments, appliance regulators and controls (except switches), laboratory analytical instruments, navigation and guidance systems (except GPS) and physical properties testing equipment.
What's included in this industry?
Manufacturing search, detection, navigation, guidance, aeronautical and nautical systems and instruments Manufacturing automatic environmental controlsManufacturing instruments for measuring, displaying and controlling industrial process variablesManufacturing totalizing fluid meter and counting devices Manufacturing instruments for measuring and testing electricity and electrical signals Manufacturing analytical laboratory instrumentsManufacturing watches, clocks and parts Manufacturing other measuring and controlling devicesCompanies
UTCThermo Fisher Scientific Inc.Honeywell International Inc.Purchase this report to view all 58 major companies in this industry.
Related Terms
AVIONICSMICROFLUIDICSRESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D)Industry Code
NAICS 334511 - Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US
Performance
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
Analyst insights
Government spending has propped up demand for the industry. As COVID-19 crushed all other spouts of demand, funding for US defense and transportation remained. Government spe...
In this chapter (4)
- Current Performance
- Outlook
- Volatility
- Life Cycle
Key metrics
- Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
- Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
- Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
- Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business
Charts
- Revenue, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
- Employees, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
- Businesses, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
- Profit, including historical (2014-2024)
- Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
- Industry Life Cycle
Detailed analysis
- Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
- Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
- Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility
- How contribution to GDP, industry saturation, innovation, consolidation, and technology and systems influence the industry's life cycle phase.
Products and Markets
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
Analyst insight
Import penetration remains a constant threat to manufacturers who do not deal with the US defense industry. Foreign products surged during the period, reducing domestic deman...
In this chapter
- Products & Services
- Major Markets
- International Trade
Key metrics
- Largest market segment and value in 2024
- Product innovation level
- Total imports, level and trend
- Total exports, level and trend
- Trade Balance
Charts
- Products & services segmentation in 2024
- Major market segmentation in 2024
- International trade, including imports by country and exports by country
Detailed analysis
- Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
- Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
- Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
- Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services
- Recent trends in import and export volumes, country of origin or destination, and expected future trends
Geographic Breakdown
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
Analyst insights
California supplies the industry with two crucial things: Offering one of the largest downstream markets, in the form of a massive home buying population, and the tech capital...
In this chapter (1)
- Business Locations
Charts
- Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each state
- Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2024
Tables
- Number and share of establishments in each state in 2024
- Number and share of revenue each state accounts for in 2024
- Number and share of wages each state accounts for in 2024
- Number and share of employees in each state in 2024
Detailed analysis
- Geographic spread of the industry across North America, and trends associated with changes in the business landscape
- Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage
Competitive Forces
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
Analyst insights
A fragmented industry keeps overall market share low since much of the industry deals with only a few specific products. For example, manufacturers producing analytical labor...
In this chapter (4)
- Concentration
- Barriers to Entry
- Substitutes
- Buyer & Supplier Analysis
Key metrics
- Industry concentration level
- Industry competition level and trend
- Barriers to entry level and trend
- Substitutes level and trend
- Buyer power level and trend
- Supplier power level and trend
Charts
- Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2019-2024
- Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart
Detailed analysis
- Factors impacting the industry’s level of concentration, such as business distribution, new entrants, or merger and acquisition activity.
- Key success factors for businesses to manage the competitive environment of the industry.
- Challenges that potential industry entrants face such as legal, start-up costs, differentiation, labor/capital intensity and capital expenses.
- Key success factors for potential entrants to overcome barriers to entry.
- Competitive threats from potential substitutes for the industry’s own products and services.
- Key success factors for how successful businesses can compete with substitutes.
- Advantages that buyers have to keep favorable purchasing conditions.
- Advantages that suppliers have to maintain favorable selling conditions.
- Key success factors for how businesses can navigate buyer and supplier power.
Companies
Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.
Analyst insights
Most navigational equipment manufacturers are specialized in producing scientific analytical laboratory equipment. This results in a high amount of fragmentation in the indus...
In this chapter
- Market Share Concentration
- Companies
- Company Spotlights
Charts
- Industry market share by company in 2020 through 2024
- Major companies in the industry, including market share, revenue, profit and profit margin in 2024
- Overview of UTC's performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
- Overview of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.'s performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
- Overview of Honeywell International Inc.'s performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
- Overview of revenue, market share and profit margin trend for 55 additional companies
Detailed analysis
- Description and key data for UTC, and factors influencing its performance in the industry
- Description and key data for Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and factors influencing its performance in the industry
- Description and key data for Honeywell International Inc., and factors influencing its performance in the industry
- Description, key data and performance trends for 55 additional companies
External Environment
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
Analyst insights
Navigational instrument manufacturers overall are heavily regulated in this industry. Due to it’s fragmentation, instrument manufacturers are individually subject to heighten...
In this chapter
- External Drivers
- Regulation & Policy
- Assistance
Key metrics
- Regulation & policy level and trend
- Assistance level and trend
Charts
- Regulation & Policy historical data and forecast (2014-2029)
- Assistance historical data and forecast (2014-2029)
Detailed analysis
- Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance
- Major types of regulations, regulatory bodies, industry standards or specific regulations impacting requirements for industry operators
- Key governmental and non-governmental groups or policies that may provide some relief for industry operators.
Financial Benchmarks
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
Analyst insights
Cost benchmarks vary greatly per manufacturer, since certain navigational instruments are much less technologically advanced than others. This creates variation in individual...
In this chapter
- Cost Structure
- Financial Ratios
- Key Ratios
Key metrics
- Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
- Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
- Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
- Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio
Charts
- Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2024
- Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2024
- Investment vs. share of economy
Data tables
- Industry Multiples (2017-2022)
- Industry Tax Structure (2017-2022)
- Income Statement (2017-2022)
- Balance Sheet (2017-2022)
- Liquidity Ratios (2017-2022)
- Coverage Ratios (2017-2022)
- Leverage Ratios (2017-2022)
- Operating Ratios (2017-2022)
- Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2014-2029)
- Revenue per Employee (2014-2029)
- Revenue per Enterprise (2014-2029)
- Employees per Establishment (2014-2029)
- Employees per Enterprise (2014-2029)
- Average Wage (2014-2029)
- Wages/Revenue (2014-2029)
- Establishments per Enterprise (2014-2029)
- IVA/Revenue (2014-2029)
- Imports/Demand (2014-2029)
- Exports/Revenue (2014-2029)
Detailed analysis
- Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability
Key Statistics
Industry Data
Data Tables
Including values and annual change:
- Revenue (2014-2029)
- IVA (2014-2029)
- Establishments (2014-2029)
- Enterprises (2014-2029)
- Employment (2014-2029)
- Exports (2014-2029)
- Imports (2014-2029)
- Wages (2014-2029)
Methodology
How are IBISWorld reports created?
IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.
Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.
IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.
What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?
Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.
Key data sources in the US include:
- US Census Bureau
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics
- US International Trade Commission
Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.
These sources include:
- Industry and trade associations
- Industry federations or regulators
- Major industry players annual or quarterly filings
Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.
How does IBISWorld forecast its data?
IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.
IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.
Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.
What is the market size of the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States in 2024?
The market size of the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States is $125.7bn in 2024.
How many businesses are there in the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in 2024?
There are 3,241 businesses in the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States, which has declined at a CAGR of 1.5 % between 2019 and 2024.
Has the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States grown or declined over the past 5 years?
The market size of the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States has been declining at a CAGR of 1.3 % between 2019 and 2024.
What is the forecast growth of the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States over the next 5 years?
Over the next five years, the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States is expected to grow.
What are the biggest companies in the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US market in United States?
The biggest companies operating in the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing market in United States are UTC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Honeywell International Inc.
What does the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US in United States include?
Manufacturing search, detection, navigation, guidance, aeronautical and nautical systems and instruments and Manufacturing automatic environmental controls are part of the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry.
Which companies have the highest market share in the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US in United States?
The company holding the most market share in United States is UTC.
How competitive is the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States?
The level of competition is high and increasing in the Navigational Instrument Manufacturing in the US industry in United States.
