Global PLC Market Remains Strong

  Buoyed by a robust economy that is driving rapid growth in manufacturing, the worldwide market for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 7.3 percent during the next five years, according to a recent report from ARC Advisory Group Inc. (www.arcweb.com), Dedham, Mass. The PLC market totaled more than $8.3 billion in 2006 and is projected to grow to nearly $12 billion in 2011, the report says.

Capital investments for automation are expected to remain strong across many industries during the five-year period. “It is clear that manufacturers have come to rely heavily on automation technology as they work to optimize their operations to maximize productivity and profitability in an increasingly competitive global manufacturing environment. As a result, the demand for PLCs will grow robustly,” says Himanshu Shah, an ARC senior analyst and the principal author of the report, titled “Programmable Logic Controller Worldwide Outlook.”

The strength in the global PLC market should be good news for users. The market remains fiercely competitive among small and large suppliers who are chasing manufacturing activities around the world by setting up local support facilities, ARC says. Small and large suppliers continue to innovate and introduce new products that offer higher value propositions to both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end-users.