Home Water Treatment to Eclipse $2.6 Billion

As consumer concerns over drinking water purity continue to rise, sales in the home water treatment market will exceed $2.6 billion by the end of 2005, according to The U.S. Market for Residential Water Treatment, a report from market research publisher Specialists in Business Information (SBI), a division of MarketResearch.com.

SBI predicts the home water treatment market — which consists of both water filtration systems and water softeners — will reach $2.633 billion in 2005, a 6.5 percent increase over 2004. Dominated by filtration devices, which command 70 percent of the market share, the market has been bolstered by growing consumer interest in newer purification technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO), ozone, and ultraviolet (UV). SBI says RO gained a significant edge over activated charcoal filtration in 2005 — $585 million vs. $566.52 million in retail sales — amplifying the consumers” shift toward filtration technologies offering greater protection from a wider range of contaminants.

It”s important to note that sales figures and projections were calculated while the nation suffered through a late summer rife with natural disasters. Consequently, the study predicts sales of water treatment products will be strong at year”s end. “With fears of chemical and bacterial contamination running high in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we”re bound to see this market jump in 2006 as daily life necessitates water treatment equipment for millions of people who may have never considered purified drinking water before,” said Don Montuori, SBI’s publisher, in a prepared statement.

The report includes an examination of the U.S. water supply; identifies key issues, regulations, and trends affecting the marketplace; examines purchaser demographics; and profiles manufacturer and retailer strategies used to maximize growth and profitability.

— Flow Control Staff