Smart Water Metering Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the smart water metering market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global smart water metering market reached a value of nearly $3.88 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.34% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $3.88 billion in 2023 to $7.43 billion in 2028 at a rate of 13.88%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.55% from 2028 and reach $12.27 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the utilities focusing on reducing non-revenue water, increasing number of smart city projects, new investments in water infrastructure and increasing environmental concerns. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period include high installation and maintenance costs of smart meters.

Going forward, the growing demand for replacement of old water meters, increasing water consumption, rise in residential construction projects, rising water scarcity and conservation efforts, supportive government regulations and policies and increasing industrialization will drive the market. Factors that could hinder the growth of the smart water metering market in the future include supply chain disruptions.

The smart water metering market is segmented by meter type into ultrasonic meter, electromagnetic meter and mechanical meter. The ultrasonic meter market was the largest segment of the smart water metering market segmented by meter type, accounting for 48.74% or $1.89 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the ultrasonic meter segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the smart water metering market segmented by meter type, at a CAGR of 15.61% during 2023-2028.

The smart water metering market is segmented by technology into automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). The advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) market was the largest segment of the smart water metering market segmented by technology, accounting for 61.62% or $2.39 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the automatic meter reading (AMR) segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the smart water metering market segmented by technology, at a CAGR of 14.75% during 2023-2028.

The smart water metering market is segmented by application into residential, commercial and industrial. The residential market was the largest segment of the smart water metering market segmented by application, accounting for 52.65% or $2.04 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the residential segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the smart water metering market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 14.15% during 2023-2028.

The smart water metering market is segmented by component into information technology (IT) solutions, communications and meter and accessories. The meter and accessories market was the largest segment of the smart water metering market segmented by component, accounting for 58.11% or $2.25 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the information technology (IT) solutions segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the smart water metering market segmented by component, at a CAGR of 15.40% during 2023-2028.

North America was the largest region in the smart water metering market, accounting for 40.07% or $1.55 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Asia-Pacific, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the smart water metering market will be Asia-Pacific and Africa, where growth will be at CAGRs of 16.11% and 15.37% respectively. These will be followed by the Middle East and South America, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 14.83% and 14.26% respectively.

The global smart water metering market is fragmented, with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 7.17% of the total market in 2023. Mueller Water Products Inc. was the largest competitor with a 1.09% share of the market, followed by Landis + Gyr with 1.05%, Xylem Inc. with 0.92%, Apator SA with 0.77%, Arad Group with 0.67%, Ningbo Water Meter Co Ltd with 0.61%, Kamstrup A/S. with 0.57%, Diehl Stiftung & Co. KG with 0.5042%, Hubbell Incorporated with 0.5037% and Itron Inc. with 0.49%.

The top opportunities in the smart water metering market segmented by meter type will arise in the ultrasonic meter segment, which will gain $2.01 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the smart water metering market segmented by technology will arise in the advanced meter infrastructure segment, which will gain $2.07 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the smart water metering market segmented by application will arise in the residential segment, which will gain $1.91 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the smart water metering market segmented by component will arise in the meters and accessories segment, which will gain $1.93 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The smart water metering market size will gain the most in the USA at $1.05 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for smart water metering market include focus on remote monitoring systems enhanced with LoRa communication technology, introducing innovative smart water advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solutions, innovations in cellular modules which transform legacy gas and water meters into smart meters, integration of the internet of things (IoT) in smart water metering systems and focus on adopting a strategic partnership approach for business expansion in the market.

Player-adopted strategies in the smart water metering market include focus on strengthening business operations by launching new programs through strategic partnerships, strengthening business operations by launching new products and transforming water management through new product launches.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the smart water metering companies to focus on leveraging LoRa (long range) technology for remote monitoring, focus on advancing smart water AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) solutions, focus on cellular module innovations for legacy meter upgrades, focus on IoT integration for enhanced water usage efficiency, focus on ultrasonic meters for market growth, focus on automatic meter reading segment for market expansion, focus on information technology solutions segment for market expansion, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships for integrated AMI solutions, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events and focus on residential market segment for growth opportunities.