North America Process Automation Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

Market Overview

The North American process automation market (henceforth referred to as the market studied) was valued at USD 35.44 billion in 2020. It is expected to reach USD 44.49 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 4.1% during 2021-2026 (henceforth referred to as the forecast period). The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on different industries in the United States is strongly affecting the uptake of process automation in the region. The impact of COVID-19 is quite significant on industries like energy, utilities, and resources. The oil supply chain has slowed because fewer oil and oil-derived products are being produced and used. The oil-producing regions of OPEC have called for a deep production cut of 1.5 million barrels per day to support sagging prices due to COVID-19. For instance, the overall price of West Texas Intermediate crude decreased by approximately 25% YTD. However, some of this price drop is attributed to a price war between the Saudi Kingdom and Russia.

Different baseline indicators demonstrate the impact of COVID-19 on differently sized businesses in Canada. For hours worked, SMEs are found to be hardest hit by the outbreak of the pandemic in Q1 of FY 2020. Large-scale firms were the least hit. 

• The automation industry in North America has been revolutionized by combining the digital and physical aspects of manufacturing. These changes are aimed at delivering optimum performance. Further, the focus on achieving zero waste production and shorter time to market has augmented the market's growth. The automation of manufacturing processes has offered various benefits, such as effortless monitoring, reduction of waste, and increased production speed. Automation offers customers improved quality, with standardized and dependable products, within a short span of time and at a much lower cost.
• Connecting industrial machinery and equipment and obtaining real-time data have played a key role in the adoption of SCADA, HMI, and PLC systems, and software that offer visualization. These systems help in reducing the faults in the product, reducing downtime, scheduling maintenance, and switching from being in the reactive state to the predictive and prescriptive stages for decision-making.
• The manufacturing sector is witnessing significant growth. In the United States, employment in the manufacturing sector declined over the past 25 years. The rising material costs, price reduction pressures, and increasing labor costs are the primary challenges faced by these industries. The fluctuating unit labor costs in the United States indicate an irregularity in productivity. This augmented the adoption of automation across the industrial sector, thereby reducing the costs associated with production.

Scope of the report

The scope of the study includes the key control systems and components, the underlying connectivity architecture, and the protocols that are deployed in the process automation industry in North America.

Some of the key definitions of the control systems are listed below.

DCS: A DCS system is a network architecture for controlling processes or plants with the help of several connected digital controllers distributed throughout the system.

PLC: This is a digitally operating electronic system designed for use in an industrial environment. It includes functions like logic, sequencing, timing, counting, and arithmetic, and is used to control through digital or analog inputs and outputs, various types of machines, and processes.

SCADA: This refers to an industrial computer system that monitors and controls a process. SCADA systems include the hardware, software, and services implemented for supervising and controlling geographically-distributed plant assets.

MES: This is defined as a scheduling and tracking system that is used in the manufacturing sector to analyze and report resource availability and status, schedule and update orders, and collect detailed execution data.

The other systems analyzed in the study include electric motors, valves and actuators, process safety, and sensors and transmitters. 

An analysis of the software and services, the end-user industries and the geographical regions is also a part of the study. Additionally, the impact of COVID-19 on this market has been studied.

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Key Market Trends

Oil and Gas is Expected to Grow Significantly

• Automation is a significant driver in the oil and gas industry. Digitization, automation, and new technologies give operators and technicians immediate access to critical performance, condition, and technical information. Oil and Gas companies in the studied region are increasingly adopting process automation, to enhance decision-making speeds, troubleshooting, and performance efficiency.
• The North American Oil and Gas companies often face challenges transitioning to more renewable sources. To meet the demand in diverse situations, energy companies need to focus on innovative technologies like process automation within their business models, to embrace innovation and increase efficiency. 
• Modernizing internal processes with automation and better access to information about operations and maintenance will help the industry streamline production and distribution, and allow for a higher yield. 
• There is surging demand for safety and reliability in the oil and gas industry's processes. The industry's supply chain creates a significant demand for automation, industry expertise, and an extensive partner network. Process automation helps oil and gas producers integrate information, control power, and provide safety solutions to respond to the dynamic global demand.
• Additionally, the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry involves several drilling activities that need to meet stringent government regulations and require intense planning, to cut down operational costs. Often, the industry deals with vast sets of spatial data, to make several decisions. Several process automation tools and analytical engines are employed in the sector, to harness the complete power of spatial data.
• With the fluctuation in crude oil price, several oil and gas companies are focusing on minimizing costs and maximizing efficiency throughout the distribution chain. To sustain in the rising competitive environment and decrease the retail margins, they need to optimize several processes in multiple sectors.

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