Global Motion Control Shipments Grow 6.2% in the First Half of 2014

Ann Arbor, Michigan – Global shipments for motion control products grew by 6.2% to $1.5 billion in the first half of 2014, according to new statistics released by the Motion Control Association (MCA), the industry’s trade group.  

“Solid growth in the motion control market is aligned with the double digit growth we are seeing in the robotics and machine vision industries,” said Dana Whalls, MCA Vice President. “Manufacturers and distributors are optimistic that we’ll see continued growth in 2014.”

“Strong increases in sales of motion controllers, motors, and actuators/mechanical systems have driven the growth in the first half of 2014,” said Alex Shikany, MCA Director of Market Analysis. “Motion controllers have been especially hot recently. Since the beginning of 2009, the motion controller category has averaged 19% growth per quarter through the second quarter of 2014.”

Individually, the second quarter of 2014 followed a good first quarter with 8.4% growth to $764 million. The main growth categories for the second quarter were AC motors (36.9%), motion controllers (36%), and actuators/mechanical systems (12.4%).

MCA 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. MCA also provides an economic indicator report, which enables report users to interpret quarterly statistics from the standpoint of macro-economic indicators by individual manufacturing industry, as identified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Reports are available free of charge to all MCA 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 MCA, visit www.MotionControlOnline.org.

About MCA
The Motion Control Association (MCA) is a global not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting the understanding and use of motion control technologies and developing business opportunities for mechanical and electronic (mechatronics) motion control companies. Its members include manufacturers of complete motion control systems, component manufacturers, system integrators, distributors, end users, consulting firms, academic institutions and research groups directly involved with mechanical and electronic (mechatronics) motion control around the world. MCA is part of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)
The Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 is the umbrella group for the Motion Control Association (MCA), Robotic Industries Association (RIA), and AIA – the vision and imaging association. MCA, RIA, and AIA combined represent more than 750 automation stakeholders from throughout the world. For more information, please visit our websites: A3 - www.automate.org; MCA - www.motioncontrolonline.org; RIA - www.robotics.org; AIA - www.visiononline.org.

Contact:    
Bob Doyle
Director - Communications
(734) 994-6088