International. Currently, the United States has the largest helium market worldwide, consuming about 32% of the total volume, or about 57 million m3/year.
Tight helium supply and higher prices have led to erosion in helium volume demand with reduced supply from substitution, to recovery and recycling. Looking ahead, the consensus is the demand for U.S. growth that will be about 1-2% per year. Asia represents the second largest helium market with 31% of demand worldwide; about 54 million m3 / year.
China is the largest market in Asia, followed by Japan, South Korea and Taiwanese electronic markets. Demand growth in the future is estimated at high single-digit figures, with the exception of Japan, a more mature market that is relatively stagnant. The current major supplier of helium to Asia is the U.S., due to the favorable distribution economy from the western United States and the rapid container shipping of Long Beach, California. However, with Qatar's new supply fully intensified, Qatar's supply is increasing while the US supply is decreasing.
Europe constitutes approximately 21%, or 37 million m3 of demand worldwide. Helium applications are less saturated in Europe than in the US. Demand growth is expected to be zero to 0.5% per year over the next few years. Currently, Algeria and the US are the primary suppliers.
Other markets in the Americas (Canada and Latin America) and Africa/Middle East/India together account for 16% of the global market. These regions have traditionally contributed to strong demand growth, and are expected to grow around 3-5% per year in the future, driven by the industrialization of their emerging economies.
