| SIC Codes: | 3825 |
| NAICS Codes: | 334515 |
Companies in this industry manufacture equipment used to test electrical properties and signals. Major companies include Agilent, Danaher, and Teradyne (all based in the US), along with Anritsu (Japan), Rohde & Schwarz (Germany), Spirent Communications (UK), and Yokogawa Electric (Japan).
Demand is driven by growth in primary end-use markets, including electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, telecommunications, aerospace and defense. The profitability of individual companies depends on controlling manufacturing costs and maintaining continuous, rapid product innovation. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in sourcing components and product distribution. Small companies can compete by specializing in equipment for niche markets or developing a reputation for high-quality products. The US industry is concentrated: the largest 50 companies account for more than 75 percent of revenue.
Major products include instruments such as frequency counters, logic analyzers, multimeters, oscilloscopes, voltmeters, and waveform synthesizers. Other products include instruments designed for a specific application, such as communications testing equipment and instruments to test semiconductors. These instruments are used to test electrical equipment and to measure electrical properties.