China developing strategic strength in PLC market: ARC

Buoyant foreign direct investment flowing into China, accompanied by rising consumer demand, is propelling the country’s manufacturing sector, which in turn is driving the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) market in China. The China market for PLCs is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 12.

By Plant Engineering Staff January 15, 2008

Buoyant foreign direct investment flowing into China, accompanied by rising consumer demand, is propelling the country’s manufacturing sector, which in turn is driving the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) market in China.

The China market for PLCs is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 12.4% over the next five years. The market was close to $750 million in 2006 and is forecasted to be over $1.3 billion in 2011, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study “Programmable Logic Controllers Outlook for China” ( www.arcweb.com/res/plc-chi ).

“The manufacturing sector’s search for sustainable competitive advantages through continuous productivity improvements will lead to the application of plant level automation across all vertical industries in a major way. These developments will spur the growth of the PLC market in China,” according to senior analyst Himanshu Shah ( hshah@arcweb.com ), co-author of the study.

China is poised to become the world’s third biggest economy in 2007. China’s economic growth trajectory is unabated. Manufacturers rely on automation to gain competitive advantages and improve profitability as they do in the global marketplace.

“Suppliers in China are adopting strategies, such as including CPM in their solution portfolios, fostering and expanding strategic relationships with OEMs, pricing their products competitively, and others, to exploit the growing opportunities,” Shah said.