2008 Update on Interpretation Industry Size

Two years have passed since T&I Business attempted to answer the question "How Large is the Interpretation Industry" in one of this blog's most popular posts. During the past two years, this blog has been one of the only sources of such educated "guesstimates". Last year, sources at Language Line again estimated the total outsourced interpretation market at $2 billion, with phone interpretation making up 50%.

Fortunately, Common Sense Advisory has decided to tackle the subject. In a new report released last week, they estimate total outsourced interpretation at $2.5 billion, with phone interpretation making up $700 million ($500 million in the US). And strong growth leads CSA to believe that total phone interpretation worldwide will grow to $1.2 billion by 2012.

CSA's estimates for in-person interpretation appear to be close to the conservative estimates reported by T&I Business in 2006, but CSA's thorough study seems to have identified very sharp growth in the phone interpretation market (21.62% among the top 15 companies), thus smashing the old estimates by Language Line and NetworkOmni.