NC software market grows by 6.9 percent

CIMdata consulting and research firm estimates that, based on end user payments, the worldwide numerical control (NC) software and related services market grew by 6.9 percent in 2006 to reach a level of $1.31 billion. Moreover, the firm (www.cimdata.com) foresees that in 2007 these payments will further increase by 6.4 percent to reach a level of 1.4 billion. If that happens, this year will be the fourth consecutive year of growth rates topping 6 percent.
NC software market growth is attributed to steady improvements in global economies, an upsurge in the sales of machine tools and increased manufacturing output. Also, manufacturing firms are placing greater emphasis on efficient operation of machine tools to enhance competitive positioning, and the overall product lifecycle management market, of which computer aided manufacturing (CAM) is a component, has shown strong growth. CAM software is directly related to all of these factors.