Strong growth should return to the global motion control market in 2014, say IHS analysts
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., 23 Jan. 2014. Strong growth should return to the global motion control market in 2014, after weak sales in 2013, predict analysts at market researcher IHS in Englewood, Colo.
Global sales of motion control products recovered in 2013 to reach $12.2 billion, but growth was far too weak to overcome the 2012 market declines, leaving market revenues well below the peak level reached in 2011, analysts say.
Sales should rebound in 2014, however, propelling market revenues to a new record high by the end of the year, according to the latest IHS study on the market for motion controls.
The motion control market reached a record level of $13.2 billion in 2011 following two years of market growth in excess of 20 percent. In 2012, the motion control market suffered from the poor economic situation in the Eurozone, a weak semiconductor market in Japan, and the fallout from overproduction in China. Conversely, the American market provided a bright spot for motion controls, growing over 5 percent in 2012.
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Market revenues last year declined in the Eurozone, Japan, and China, and the global motion control market decreased by 8.3 percent. When finalized, the results for 2013 are expected to reveal another year of subdued growth.
Stable industries like packaging, materials handling, and food, beverage, and tobacco continue to propel growth in machinery production and correspondingly, the motion control market, analysts say.
motion control sales have been constrained in 2013 by the market’s dependence on volatile industries like semiconductor, machine tool, and robotics, which are known for their cyclic growth patterns. Large declines in these industries in 2009 contributed significantly to the severe decline in the motion control market that year, and high growth in these industries in 2010 and 2011 boosted the post-recession recovery of the motion control market.
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In 2013, global machinery production declined for the semiconductor and robotics industries and grew very little in the machine tool industry, IHS analysts say.
Combined, these three industries account for about 50 percent of revenues in the motion control market, while the more stable industries like packaging, materials handling, and food and beverage account for only 16 percent of market revenues.
Still, the motion control market is estimated to have grown between 1.8 percent in 2013, as small declines in the machine tools and semiconductor machinery sectors were offset by growth in the rest of the motion control market.
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In the Eurozone, GDP growth is expected to accelerate in 2014, and renewed confidence should spur investment in machinery upgrades, leading to an increase in motion control sales.
In the Americas, recovery of the semiconductor machinery market will boost growth of motion control revenues in 2014, while in Asia, the machine tool market is forecast to recover. Globally, the motion control market is forecast to grow by over 8 percent to reach $13.3 billion in 2014, exceeding the 2011 record value by 0.6 percent.
For more information contact IHS online at www.ihs.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
