Market Trends of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Industry
Automotive is Expected to Be the Fastest-growing End-user Industry
- PLCs are used at the manufacturing stage to handle the growing demands of the automotive industry. Initially, these were employed as relay replacement equipment in automotive manufacturing. PLCs let manufacturers work smarter & faster, and as automated processes reduce the occurrence of bottlenecks, this reduces expenses in operation and production time in the industry.
- Manufacturing plants of various automotive companies have been experiencing manufacturing changes to integrate new technology into the manufacturing stream to improve productivity and efficiency. For instance, ATS Applied Tech Systems Ltd developed a tracking and tracing system for airbags using InTrack, InTouch, and GE-Fanuc PLCs to gain full error-proofing and traceability. Using the system set-up, it is feasible to trace the airbag's origin and the production machines' status during manufacturing, in case a fault is detected, even up to 10 years after production.
- It has been identified that automation has significantly increased the efficiency of auto assembly process. As a result, it is showing a growing pattern in the number of cars being produced globally while simultaneously cutting costs, paving the way for the growth of smart factories' implementation in this sector. For many years, the automotive industry has used robots in the assembly lines for various manufacturing processes. Nowadays, automakers are exploring the use of robotics in more procedures. Robots are more flexible, efficient, accurate, and dependable for these product lines. This technology also enables the automotive industry to remain one of the most significant adopters of industrial and possess one of the most automated supply chains.
- There has been an increasing demand for automobiles across the world. According to Scotiabank, worldwide automobile sales will reach 69.9 million units by 2023 and are anticipated to be more in forthcoming years.
- Furthermore, the growing proliferation of trends such as electrification of vehicles, connected and autonomous cars, etc. are also anticipated to influence the studied market's growth significantly as these automobiles generally use a larger number of electronic and control units wherein PLCs play a crucial role. Hence, the growing such trends are anticipated to drive opportunities in the studied market during the forecast period.
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Asia-Pacific is Expected to Witness a Faster Growth
- In the last few decades, the Asia Pacific region has witnessed remarkable growth across various sectors, including automotive, industrial, manufacturing, etc., and is anticipated to continue its upward growth trajectory during the forecast period, creating opportunities in the studied market. For instance, the manufacturing sector constitutes a substantial part of China's economy, which is experiencing a fast transformation with the current growth in IoT due to the expansion of Industry 4.0 around the manufacturing industries worldwide. This large-scale conversion has put the country in one of the top positions in the PLC market.
- India is fueled by the increasing usage of robotic process automation (RPA) & artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies. According to the global RPA forum Automation Anywhere, India is presently its second-biggest revenue generator behind the United States. Global capacity centers, service providers, and Indian enterprises are its most prominent customers in India.
- India's industrial automation sector has been transformed by the integration of digital and physical aspects of manufacturing to provide optimum performance. The emphasis on acquiring zero waste production and a faster time to reach the market has augmented the market's growth.
- Japan has the most significant market share in the robot manufacturing industry and installed methods where industrial robots are used to assemble robots. According to a report by IFR in March 2022, Japan is the world's number on industrial robot manufacturer, delivering 45% of the global supply for robots worldwide. Such instances are anticipated to drive the demand for automation, resulting in the developing of PLCs in the region.
- The other countries from the Asia-Pacific region include countries like South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and Thailand. With the excellent availability of raw materials and cheaper land rates, Thailand and Malaysia are gradually emerging as major industrial hubs, an alternative to China. This trend is anticipated to favor the growth of the PLC market in Asia-Pacific.
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