Conveyors amp; Sorters: Let the good times ... Convey

By anyone’s measure, the conveyor industry had a superior year in 2011 and is expecting strong growth again in 2012.

That is the most important news to come out of the annual meeting of the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association, or CEMA, being held this weekend in Miami.

The conveyor industry shipped an estimated $8.5 billion in bulk and unit handling equipment in 2011, a 28% increase over 2010, according to Dan Fannin, chair of CEMA’s statistics committee and a past president of the organization. That compared to a 17.1% increase in the over all materials handling industry as measured by the Federal Reserve Board. CEMA members one-upped the overall industry, with a 32.1% increase in shipments.

Fannin expects growth to continue in 2012, with another 10% increase in shipments to $9.35 billion. While that is a slower pace of growth than in 2011, it is consistent with predictions of a declining rate of growth for the overall materials handling industry by MHIA.

Still, 10% represents a rate of growth that any industry vertical would be glad to post and represents the continued investments that companies are making to improve productivity.