Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Research Report: By Component (Hardware, Software, Services), End-User (Energy & Power, Building & Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Mining), Geographical Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Netherlands, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Turkey, South Africa) – Global Industry Size and Share Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2024

Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Overview

Valued at $3.1 billion in 2018, the global geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market is expected to advance with a CAGR of 11.8% during 2019–2024. Growth in the construction sector across the world can be viewed as the key driver for the market. Moreover, growing urbanization and increasing government efforts toward developing sustainable infrastructure are supporting the market growth.

Globally, the construction industry is witnessing a boom on account of the rapid urbanization and economic growth in developing countries. In the historical period, investments in infrastructure, for instance, on the construction of bridges, buildings, and tourist attractions, augmented the demand for geotechnical instruments and monitoring services. Moreover, the construction market is expected to reach $15.5 trillion by 2030, with the U.S., China, and India as key propellers for the market growth.

Based on component, the geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market is categorized into hardware, software, and services. Of these, the services category contributed the highest revenue in 2018 and is also expected to dominate the market during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the increasing demand for these services for the continuous monitoring of critical structures in the energy & power sector. Moreover, there has been an increased focus on the monitoring of old, critical structures, such as dams, owing to regulations imposed by governments, keeping in view the safety of humans and wildlife in the vicinity of such structures.

The geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring hardware market is bifurcated into two categories: wireless and wired. Of the two, the wired category accounted for the larger revenue share in the market in 2018. This can be attributed to the higher reliability as well as lower latency offered by wired network connection. Besides, wired network is less prone to radio interference as compared to the wireless networking technology.

Based on end user, the geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market is categorized into energy & power, oil & gas, building & infrastructure, mining, and others, wherein “others” include landfills and disaster response. Among these, building & infrastructure held the largest share in the market in 2018, on account of the rise in the number of infrastructure projects worldwide. Moreover, construction projects such as Vista Tower and the Washington State Convention Center, which are set to be completed by 2020, are driving the market growth in this category.

Globally, North America led the geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market in 2018. This can be mainly ascribed to the high penetration of geotechnical instrumentation technology in addition to a large number of under-construction and planned infrastructure projects in the region. Furthermore, North American countries have strict government regulations for infrastructural development, which mandate the use geotechnical instruments for monitoring the structural health of buildings in the region.

Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Dynamics

Trends

A key trend observed in the geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market is the increasing integration of the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology in geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring equipment, which is primarily encouraged by the growing use of wireless and internet of things (IoT) technologies in various applications. The use of MEMS technology-supported accelerometer for in situ deformation and vibration monitoring is increasing. In such setups, sensors are placed at strategic locations to obtain data and in-place inclinometers are used to optimize data to obtain ground acceleration and deformation profiles up to a depth of 100 meters. Furthermore, sensor arrays can be connected to wireless stations to allow real-time monitoring. Owing to these benefits, companies such as Geokon Inc., Nova Ventures LLC, and Keller Group plc are offering MEMS-based equipment for geotechnical applications.

Drivers

One of the major factors driving the geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market is increasing infrastructural development across the world. The year 2017 witnessed an overall spending of $11 trillion in the global construction market, which is expected to reach $13.5 trillion by the end of 2024. The construction industry is mainly driven by countries such as China, India, and the U.S., wherein China is expected to register the fastest growth during 2019–2024 on account of the increasing government spending on transportation projects, such as high-speed railway lines and road construction.

Furthermore, the development of skyscrapers is increasing across the world. Geotechnical instruments are required in the planning phase of such structures to determine the specifics with respect to the foundation of the buildings. The need for building skyscrapers has arisen from the rapid urbanization and increasing migration toward cities. As of 2018, 55% of the population in the world lived in urban areas, and it is expected to reach 68% by 2030. Apart from the increase in building construction, this would result in the expansion of roads and rails for commutation facilities, thus supporting the growth of the geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market.

Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Competitive Landscape

The global geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring market is fragmented in nature, with the presence of a large number of players offering a suite of products and services in the domain. Competition among the market players is based on the price, accuracy, precision, and reliability of the geotechnical solutions offered by them. Some of the major players operating in the market are Fugro N.V., Keller Group plc, Geocomp, Nova Ventures LLC, Geokon Inc., Sisgeo S.r.l., COWI Holding A/S, James Fisher and Sons plc, Deep Excavation LLC, RST Instruments Ltd., Geomotion Singapore, Eustis Engineering LLC, and GeoSIG Ltd.