The global market for Infrared Imaging Technology is expected to decline by -6.6% in the year 2020 and thereafter recover and grow to reach US$7.4 billion by the year 2027, trailing a post COVID-19 CAGR of 6.3%. The pandemic is having a considerable impact on world economy and all industries. The asphyxiated economy has set into motion a cascading effect of a marked recession which is being felt by businesses and consumers alike. Global GDP is expected to dip into the red at -3% with the US economy shrinking by a shocking -5.9%. With roots in China, the world's supply chains are facing unprecedented disruption & shutdown. Interwoven with a demand crisis, the supply chain shocks are exerting a compounded blow to manufacturing companies worldwide. The worst affected industry in this pandemic driven crisis is manufacturing with its complex supply chains, labor intensive processes, and interdependencies. Division of labor, modular manufacturing strategies, outsourcing to reduce costs and increase the efficiency, consistency, and quality of each operations, have made the manufacturing sector most vulnerable amid the lockdown restrictions. An indication of the grim state of affairs is the fact that global manufacturing PMI is already declining and will fall to an estimated all-time low of 38.4 points in 2020 as compared to 53.8 in 2019. This indicates severe contraction of manufacturing activity including new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, inventories, customers' inventories, commodity prices, order backlog, new export orders, and imports. Global industrial output is plummeting sharply with the U.S posting steep declines of -16.5% & -15.2% in March & April 2020.

Business investment confidence is tumbling amidst poor demand, falling profits, liquidity crunch and a reeling global economy. The "great lockdown" of 2020 has crushed the global economy and with it the manufacturing sector. The loss in consumer confidence and erosion of household wealth and discretionary spending will impact virtually every industry and business worldwide. Global merchandize trade is expected to plummet by 15% to 30% in the year 2020 highlighting the magnitude of disruption. Against this backdrop, it requires very little speculation to measure the impact on manufacturing. In the United States alone over 80% of manufacturers are bracing for losses. The impact will mean crunch on capital resources; workforce layoffs/reduction and loss in productivity; supply chain disruptions; difficulties with funding; and increase in cybersecurity risks and fraud. Unlike IT services where work is being carried out remotely via internet and cloud platforms, for the manufacturing industry, plant activities and production cannot be carried remotely and therefore remains worst affected. The slower economic activity means reduced demand for industrial and consumer goods and lower manufacturing orders. In the midst of this crisis, demand for advanced materials used in manufacturing is taking a heavy blow as cash strapped companies struggle to cope. With manufacturing industry collapsing like a pack of cards, materials in the value chain are facing the biggest business setback ever.

Infrared (IR), also known as infrared light, is an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) that possesses longer wavelengths in comparison to a visible light, and is not visible to ordinary human eye. Infrared imaging makes use of cameras that consider heat as against light and produce an image based on temperature rather than visible properties. All objects that are warmer than absolute zero (-273°C/-459°F) are known to emit IR radiation in the MWIR and LWIR wavelengths i.e. in 3µm-14µm, with radiation amount being proportional to the object's temperature. IR imaging is utilized for focusing and detecting the radiation, which is subsequently captured in the form of a greyscale image involving use of dark and bright shades of grey to represent cooler and hotter temperatures zones and thus providing the object's/scene's heat profile. Closed factories & worker density challenges have taken their toll on plant inspection activities & demand for instruments based on thermography which are predominantly designed for handheld use. Infrared imaging widely used in the oil & gas industry to inspect operating assets for condition monitoring & predictive maintenance, stares at business losses as the industry slashes CAPEX spending by -36%. With production declining as a result of plant closures & weak consumer demand, need for IR based non-destructive testing for thickness and geometry of components & emissivity of materials has declined sharply. Post COVID-19 however, the return to growth will be led by growing demand from non-industrial sector, robust adoption in new end-use applications, technological advancements in IR imaging technology, rising adoption in security and surveillance applications, increasing availability of reasonably priced infrared cameras. Also, rising demand for infrared imaging cameras in emerging economies and high penetration of SWIR cameras will open up new avenues of growth in the coming years. The increasing use of IR cameras in quality control and inspections and steady acceptance in consumer electronic market also present untapped growth opportunities. IR imaging can be used as both a predictive and preventive tool, which makes it highly diverse. SWIR cameras are expensive given the use of expensive semiconductor material such as indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) sensors in their formulation.