Global motion control shipments grew 10.3% in 2016

Global shipments for motion control products increased by 10.3% to $3.3 billion in 2016, according to new statistics released by the Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA), the industry’s trade group.

“New opportunities in automation for motion control and motors help drive this growth,” said Dana Whalls, vice president of MCMA. “Automation technologies are enabling rapid growth in the manufacturing industry. We see this trend continuing through 2017.”

“In 2016 the motion control market rebounded considerably over 2015, which was a down year,” said Alex Shikany, MCMA director of market analysis. “The manufacturing sector expanded for most of the year, and demand rose for each product category. The top three largest segments in this market, motors (9.6% to $1.2b), electronic drives (10.5% to $603.1m), and actuators & mechanical systems (19.5% to $572.1m) increased on a year over year basis, helping drive the overall growth. The smaller AC motors segment grew the fastest at 24.3% to $34.3m.”

Individually, the fourth quarter of 2016 also increased on a year over year basis by 15.3% to $841.7 million. Growth rates were positive in each product category MCMA tracks.

MCMA summarizes market results from suppliers and distributors in quarterly tracking reports and trend analysis reports. These reports examine orders and shipments by major product category quarterly and annually with helpful tables and graphics. Growth rates and book to bill ratios are provided for each product category. MCMA also provides an economic indicator report and pressure curves vs. key economic indicators, which enable report users to interpret quarterly statistics from the standpoint of macro-economic data by individual manufacturing industry, as identified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Reports are available free of charge to all MCMA members. Members providing data for the reports receive “full” versions of the reports, which are highly detailed examinations of order and shipment results. Non-participating members receive “abridged” reports, which contain shipment results. Members find the reports valuable as gauges of overall market performance and as benchmarks for assessing relative company performance. To learn more about MCMA, visit Motion Control Online.