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The Growth of the Translation Industry
On paper, the Language Service Provider (LSP) industry is a difficult one to pin down. Statistics, often merely estimates, are dodgy and hard to trust. This is because the state of this worldwide industry, which includes translation, localization, and globalization services, is vastly fragmented. Hundreds of thousands of freelance linguists and hundreds of continuously fluctuating language-service companies have been trying, without unity, to share a huge market that was established in the 1980s. Realistically, this industry is growing like an awkward teenager without parents. With an estimated 250,000 jobs generated globally, and an estimated $24 billion generated annually by 2012, let’s hope there is some maturation on the horizon, or the world economy will suffer from this apparent lack of discipline and direction.
When looking at the LSP industry, it’s clear that there is widespread imbalance. Where the top 25 translation companies are growing at a rate of 26% annually, the remaining hundreds are growing at about 7%. Graphically,
the industry breakdown resembles a pyramid with the top companies at the tip, representing 20% of the market, while many smaller companies and about 200,000 freelance translators comprise the bottom two-thirds of the pyramid (80%). The top LSP companies make up a whopping 10% of the world’s total economic output, and are responsible for 50% of the LSP industry’s profits. This sounds like good business on their part, but many people feel that this imbalance in the industry is dangerous.
One element of danger here is that blind competition among so many companies and freelancers drives quality down along with cost. The lure of unlimited growth and vast profits attract startups and even more freelancers. In an industry that requires certification-level skills, many of these newcomers are poorly equipped to deliver great services. Therefore the market becomes bloated with mediocrity, and the overall quality of services rendered takes a hit. Companies like Translators, Inc. (www.translators.com), that employ certified, skilled specialists in over 130 languages, are competing with John Doe who has been laid off and only speaks English and a little Spanish but charges nominal fees for shoddy work. This is compounded by the fact would-be clients often view language services as a costly necessity rather than a wise investment. Companies, in the end, will pay John Doe to do shoddy work because of this phenomenon, which allows him to keep working amongst the more skilled outlets. Here, survival of the fittest unfortunately doesn’t exist yet. In essence, it’s a free-for-all. | Continue
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