Factors such as the increasing use of the computer-aided design (CAD) software in the packaging sector and the surging production of quality components and products in the automotive industry are expected to drive the U.S. CAD software market at a CAGR of 5.7% during 2020–2030. According to P&S Intelligence, the market was valued at $2,458.6 million in 2020, and it will generate $4,271.5 million revenue by 2030. As vehicle owners are generating an extensive demand for quality parts, automakers are using advanced CAD-enabled tools for product designing and development.

The increasing use of the CAD software in the packaging sector is one of the primary growth drivers for the market. Packaging machinery is used for product filling, labeling, wrapping, and strapping. Over the years, packaging machines have become more complex, owing to which designers and engineers are increasingly adopting the CAD software to meet the mechatronic engineering challenges, as it allows unconventional modeling of this machinery through communication and simulation control tools. These tools help in reducing the cost and energy consumption of machines by optimizing motors and helping select actuators.

Nowadays, the shift of end users from 2D CAD to 3D CAD, on account of the rising demand for accuracy and speed in product designing and development, while upholding the product quality, has become a prominent trend in the U.S. CAD software market. In recent years, the automotive and aerospace & defense industries have become aware of the benefits of 3D CAD solutions, owing to which they are strongly focusing on this technology to digitally prototype their products before mass production.

The model segment of the U.S. CAD software market is classified into surface, solid, and wireframe. Under this segment, the solid category accounted for the largest market share in 2020 due to the surging focus of manufacturers on precise designing and professional product prototyping. Additionally, solid-modeling CAD software allows the designer to visualize the real-life appearance of the product. Owing to these factors, the solid category is also expected to exhibit the fastest growth during the forecast period (2021–2030).

The application segment of the U.S. CAD software market is categorized into arts, aerospace & defense, automotive, healthcare, media & entertainment, manufacturing, and others, such as interior designing, information technology (IT), shipbuilding, and textiles. Among these, the aerospace and defense category generated the highest revenue in 2020, and it is expected to continue this trend in the forecast years. This can be owed to the increasing focus of aerospace and defense manufacturers on the development of state-of-the-art missile, shuttle, and aircraft designs.

The U.S. CAD software market is fragmented due to the presence of numerous players, such as Dassault Systèmes SE, Hexagon AB, Autodesk Inc., 3D Systems Corporation, Bentley Systems Inc., Siemens AG, CNC Software Inc., and PTC Inc. In recent years, they have largely focused on mergers and acquisitions to consolidate their position. For instance, in June 2021, Autodesk Inc. acquired all the outstanding shares of the common stock of Altium Limited to develop a unified designing, engineering, and manufacturing cloud platform that offers enhanced productivity and sustainability to its customers.

Therefore, the rising demand for quality vehicle parts and the surging use of the CAD software in the packaging sector are the major growth drivers for the market.