Worldwide, spending on PLCs and directly associated software and services should exceed $9 billion by 2011, according to a recent IMS Research report.  The IMS publication, "The World Market for PLCs-2007 Edition," forecasts steady growth, at about 5 percent annually, in the PLC market over the next five years.

The Asia Pacific region is forecast to experience the strongest growth, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 7.9%.

According to the IMS PLC report, here is the current percentage breakout for the global PLC market:

Hardware = 83.1%

Software = 6.5%

Services = 10.4%

IMS Research has also completed a recent analysis of the Chinese market. The IMS report is titled: "The Chinese Market for PLCs, Operator Terminals, and Industrial PCs—2007 Edition."  According to the report, "The Chinese market for PLCs was estimated to be worth in excess of $645 million in 2006." In contrast to the huge PLC market, the operator terminals market in China is smaller, although it is projected to experience higher growth levels during the forecast period of this report (2006 through 2011). 

According to IMS analysts who wrote the report on China: “The market for automation components within machinery sectors is forecast to increase significantly during the timeframe of this report. The production relocation of multinational machinery companies to China is one of the main drivers for growth within the region. Fast production growth of Chinese machinery companies is another important factor influencing growth.”

For more information on these reports, go to www.IMSresearch.com   or

contact:

Mandeep Singh

Business Development

IMS Research

E-mail: mandeep.singh@imsresearch.com