According to new ARC research, the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) market declined during the 2020 pandemic but is expected to recover to 2019 levels in most industries by the end of 2021. After a difficult year in 2019, the market dropped by double digits in 2020 as industrial activity in most parts of the world ground to a halt and projects were delayed. However, the market proved its resilience in 2021 as the world learned to cope with COVID-19 and demand slowly returned. Most PLC suppliers reported robust growth in the first three quarters of calendar year 2021. PLCs have gained a lot of speed and new functionality in the past decade, allowing some users to switch to smaller PLCs. This tactic is especially popular with cost-conscious machine builders and is changing the market dynamics.
"The Industrial Internet of Things (Industrial IoT) is changing how industrial processes are controlled and monitored, but PLCs are growing with and adapting to the new challenges rather than being replaced by alternate technologies. Despite threats from contemporary technologies, the classic PLC continues to be the preferred choice among machine builders and end users to control industrial machinery and processes, and increasingly in infrastructure applications. Based on established industrial technology, PLCs are valued for their speed, repeatability, reliability, and ease of deployment and maintenance. These characteristics are difficult to achieve with other technologies," according to David Humphrey Research Director and key author of ARC's Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and PLC-based Programmable Automation Controllers (PACs) Market Research Report.
PLC and PLC-based PAC Market Trends
In addition to providing detailed competitive market share data, the report also addresses key market trends as follows:
- Software-defined Everything
- PLCs Go Industrial IoT
- MTP Adds Flexibility and Scalability
- More IO to Gather More Information
- Expect More Frequent Migration
- Connect to the Cloud
- Communications Will Become More Standardized and Universal
Leading Suppliers to the Programmable Logic Controllers Market Identified
In addition to providing specific market data and industry trends, this ARC market research also identifies and positions the leading suppliers to this market and provides and summarizes their relevant offerings. An alphabetical list of key suppliers covered in this analysis includes: Mitsubishi Electric, OMRON, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Siemens.
About the Programmable Logic Controllers Research
The Programmable Logic Controllers report explores the current and future market performance and related technology and business trends and identifies leading technology suppliers. This new research is based on ARC’s industry-leading market research database, extensive primary and secondary research, and proprietary economic modelling techniques. The research includes competitive analysis, plus five-year market forecasts and up to 5 years of historical analysis segmented by World Region, Industry, Customer Type, Machinery by Segment, Sales Channel, Revenue Category, Hardware by Type, Software by Component, Service Revenues by Type, PAC and Standard PLCs.
This new research is available in a variety of formats to meet the specific research and budgetary requirements of a wide variety of organizations. These include:
- Market Intelligence Workbook (Excel Power Pivot): A standard Workbook includes the base year market data and a five-year market forecast. This workbook enables licensed users to freely manipulate the data to make it easier to analyze the latest data for business intelligence and generate custom reports. Available with up to 5 years of historical analysis.
- Concise Market Analysis Report (PDF): This wide-screen presentation format makes it much easier to find detailed information on a market. This new format provides executives, business unit managers, and other authorized users with immediate access to in-depth market analysis, including analysis associated with every market data chart and figure. Included is an executive-level summary of the current market dynamics, five-year market forecast, and competitive analysis, plus an overview of strategic issues. The PDF is available with a comprehensive set of charts with associated analysis.
For more information on this and other available ARC market research, please visit our Market Data & Studies section.