Motion Control shipments down 5.4% through first nine months of 2013

For the first nine months of 2013, motion control product shipments are down 5.4% from the same period in 2012, according to new statistics released by the Motion Control Association (MCA), the industry’s trade group.

“Despite the contraction in the market, economic indicators are pointing in the right direction,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of MCA. “The manufacturing industry in the United States has continued its expansion, and industrial production is up over the same period last year. Historically, that has been a good sign for the motion control industry.”

“For the first nine months of 2013 we have seen the strongest growth in shipments of motion controllers (18.3%) and support services (2.7%),” said Alex Shikany, MCA’s director of market analysis. “The motion controllers segment, in particular, has really started growing at an increased pace this year and is definitely a ‘hot’ product category,” Shikany added. “There is still a lot of optimism from industry experts in motion control. Our latest survey shows that the majority of manufacturers and distributors believe orders and shipments will increase in the next six months.”

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 tables and color 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).

All 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 Motion Control Online.

Motion control technologies will take center stage at the upcoming 2014 MCA Business Conference event in Orlando, January 22-24. In addition to several industry speakers featuring global economic forecasts, increasing your company’s competitiveness, and leading a high performance team to Mars, the event will provide in-depth breakout sessions on different motion control technologies. The event is co-located with the Robotic Industries Association Industry Forum and AIA Business Conference, and features general sessions for networking with industry leaders and learning about associated automation technologies.