Automation Index

In 2009, in the middle of the economic crisis, some economists consulted history books and made two conclusions: 1) recovery after a financial crisis takes significantly longer than after a crisis in manufacturing, and 2) in the past, it took around eight years to recover from an economic crisis.

Obviously, after a quick bounce back in 2011 – fueled by government intervention across the globe – we went through a long period of sideward movement. Some industries experienced booms and some suffered, but overall, it was a sideward movement. Now, eight years later, we are in the middle of the first real uptick in industry and in automation. This uptick crosses many industries and regions.

Another economic maxim also applies: In day-to-day business, short-term trends overpower long-term trends. This means that the current business cycle also masks some of the fundamental problems. Brexit in Europe, geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, middle income traps for emerging Asian countries, a consistently suffering Latin America, a purely resource-dependent Africa, and the US becoming a less reliable partner for global trade and stability.

Today, while both process and discrete industries are growing, ARC’s Discrete Automation Index is at a record high (superseding the value from 2011 and 2007); but the process industries have just started to recover and are still on a low level. This trend is global and all regions report similar dynamics.

Table of Contents

• Executive Overview

• Automation Markets in Europe

• Automation Markets in the Americas

• Automation Markets in Asia

• Recommendations

   

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Keywords: Economic Crisis, Financial Crisis, Manufacturing, Automation, Process Industries, Discrete Industries, ARC Advisory Group.