Global low-voltage motor market bounces back

Oil & gas revenue increases lead 4% sector growth according to a report from IHS Markit.

By Bob Vavra December 20, 2018

The low-voltage motors market in process manufacturing grew 4% from 2016 to 2017, according to a report from IHS Markit. The increase marked a rebound after a soft market in 2016 in the oil and gas sector.

“In 2017 the market experienced a recovery, and the process industries experienced the strongest upswing, especially the oil and gas sector,” wrote Ivan Campos, manufacturing technology research analyst for IHS Markit, in his Dec. 20 report. “The top process industries grew at a faster rate than the top discrete industries in 2017, and this trend continued in 2018.”

The oil & gas market for low-voltage motors is expected to rise 9.1% by the end of 2018, up from the 6.1% growing in 2017. “Rising oil prices led to a strong rebound in the oil and gas industry, which meant large projects that were previously delayed due to pending equipment purchases needed to capitalize on the industry’s growth,” Campos wrote. “Most of the purchasing came from projects that were pushed in the Middle East, as well as additional investment into the United States.”

Governmental decisions also have an impact on the low voltage market, Campos noted in his report. “U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports have increased demand for domestic steel, causing U.S. steel manufacturers to heavily invest in new equipment to keep up with demand,” he wrote. “The future of U.S.-imposed tariffs, and the sustainability of the corresponding recent growth in the US metal processing industry, remains uncertain.

“On the other hand, China has been suffering from closures of multiple metal processing factories, caused by the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment crackdown on facilities that are not in compliance with new environmental standards,” he added. “Since China produces half of the global output of aluminum, the decline in production stifled the global metal processing industry growth rate.”

IHS Markit reports that half of the low-voltage process sector motor market revenues were led by four suppliers: ABB; Wolong; Siemens; and WEG. The report also cited Regal Beloit and Nidec as vendors who “are smaller, but have a considerable presence, as well.”

IHS Markit projections are for the low-voltage process market to grow from $3.7 billion in 2017 to $4.4 billion by 2022.

The full report is available at this link on the IHS Markit site. IHS Markit is a CFE Media content partner.


Author Bio: Bob is the Content Manager for Plant Engineering.