September 22, 2008: Robust investments in manufacturing industries pushed General Motion Control (GMC) market growth worldwide in 2007. While economic expansion is expected to continue, future growth will be at a slower pace. The worldwide market for GMCs is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.7% over the next five years.
The GMC market reached nearly $6.0 billion in 2007 and is forecasted to grow to over $8.2 billion in 2012, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study. The industrial machinery market is a good reflection for the overall GMC market.
“While there has been a steady demand for machinery in the highly developed regions, many machinery builders are experiencing unprecedented demand from developing countries, including China, India, as well as the countries of Eastern Europe,“ according to Senior Analyst Himanshu Shah, the principal author of ARC’s “General Motion Control Worldwide Outlook.”
Globalization Is Fueling GMC Market Growth
Manufacturers will continually face challenges to raise productivity, lower product costs, reduce plant operating expenses, and increase return on investment (ROI) in order to compete in the global market. Consequently, capital investments for GMC systems are expected to remain strong across many industries during the next five year period. Globalization is causing manufacturing companies to invest in creating new capacities in various industries, such as CPG, automotive, food & beverage, and electronics & semiconductor. GMC systems will be increasingly more vital as manufacturers continue to face challenges to satisfy market demands, compete in the growing economy, and keep their businesses profitable.
The rapidly expanding middle class in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America is creating massive demand for automobiles, resulting in new local factories and increases in capacity at the existing production facilities. Additionally, more and more parts for the automotive industry are being sourced from Asia. Global automotive manufacturers that set up plants in Asia are held to the same high standards of production and quality as they are in the developed economies. This will drive increase in demand for more GMC products and services.
Market Trends
In addition to emerging trends in automation systems, the General Motion Control Worldwide Outlook study addresses a number of trends in the GMC market, for example, related to machine safeguarding and mechatronics. Developments in the global market are creating yet again another impetus for adoption of a common set of corporate safeguarding practices that are now rapidly becoming best practices. Mechatronics continue to play an increasingly important role in GMC technology, because machine builders are constantly faced with the challenges of integrating hardware, software, and electrical components together. The successful integrations of these components within a GMC system results in better machine performance and reduces the costs of implementation for machine builders.
In addition to the quantitative assessment of the GMC market, this study provides an insightful analysis of the products and strategies of leading GMC suppliers and explores issues that will impact this business in the future. About ARC: Founded in 1986, ARC Advisory Group has grown to become the Thought Leader in Manufacturing and Supply Chain solutions. No matter how complex your business issues, our analysts have the expert industry knowledge and first-hand experience to help you find the best answer. We focus on simple yet critical goals: improving your return on assets, operational performance, total cost of ownership, project time-to-benefit, and shareholder value.