In an article published on 3DPrint.com in October 2026, HP executive and 3D printing columnist François Minec noted that industrial additive manufacturing returned to growth in 2025 after plateauing in 2024, and forecast that the industry will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 10–15% through 2030, with aerospace and defense demand as the main driver of capacity buildout and accelerated adoption. The article argues that after extensive industry consolidation, equipment and workflow reliability have improved, and continuing declines in unit cost are unlocking new applications in automotive, medical, and other sectors. Following experience-curve logic, rising cumulative output drives manufacturers to learn, standardize, and automate, further reducing unit cost—provided that new capacity translates into repeatable, stable processes. Minec also warns of a trust deficit: during the two investment booms of 2014–15 and 2019–21, several companies exaggerated productivity and economic promises; after the valuation bubbles burst, companies disappeared and investors lost money, and customers remain skeptical about investing in high-end equipment to this day. He acknowledges that HP itself was similarly overoptimistic in its early years, having casually claimed it would replace injection molding. For the metal additive manufacturing value chain, demand expansion and trust repair are proceeding in parallel. Reliability validation of equipment and processes is replacing parameter competition as the adoption threshold, pushing powder suppliers' ability to deliver on specifications into the spotlight. Value for powder buyers: (1) Aerospace and defense capacity expansion will drive medium- to long-term demand for metal powders upward; prioritize assessing suppliers' ability to consistently deliver on specification commitments. (2) Falling unit costs will unlock more application scenarios, and procurement portfolios will cover more alloy grades and smaller batch sizes. (3) Beware of supplier exit risk during the industry shakeout; prioritize partnering with manufacturers that have capacity and financial resilience.