Asia to drive relay market
Staff -- Plant Engineering, 3/1/2005
The global market for electromechanical and solid-state relays is expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2007 according to a study by Venture Development Corp. Although global relay consumption contracted between 2000 and 2002, demand rebounded in the second half of 2003 and continued throughout 2004 at 10% to 15% growth rates. Long-term growth rates (three to five years) are expected to be slow to approximately 3% to 4%, with the highest growth expected in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to VDC, the trends that will shape relay consumption in Asia during the next three years include:
- Electromechanical relay growth within telecommunications, automated test equipment, and automotive markets
- Price pressures in commodity-type relay categories, driven in part by the increased number of low-cost Chinese relay manufacturers
- Conversions to solid-state technologies in select industrial and commercial markets
- Shift in consumption to Asian markets, with highest growth expected in the People's Republic of China.
