Record growth in 2005 worldwide drives market

2004 and 2005 represented the strongest consecutive years of growth in the worldwide market for AC and DC motor drives in over a decade, according to the latest data produced by IMS Research

2004 and 2005 represented the strongest consecutive years of growth in the worldwide market for AC and DC motor drives in over a decade, according to the latest data produced by IMS Research.

The market was strong across all product categories, all power ranges, and in all regions.

China, of course, was strong.

North America continued its excellent growth.

The biggest surprise was the strength in EMEA.

After lagging for the past few years, growth in the EMEA market was surpassed only by growth in China.

Given the relative size of the EMEA market, the double-digit growth rate seen in 2005 is a welcomed surprise.

The primary key to this growth was strong exports to China, North America and Eastern Europe.

According to analyst Steve Odom, "The manufacturing boom in China, big increases in spending around the globe in an effort to get base commodities out of the ground, and higher energy prices pushing demand for energy efficiency, all helped push all regional drives markets higher".

The question is for how long will this exuberant market for industrial motor drives continue? While there appears to be no sign of an imminent slow down in the 2006 EMEA drives market, results from the first quarter of 2006 show the North American drives market experiencing its slowest rate of growth in five quarters.

Whether first quarter growth in North America is an early sign of growth moderating or just a quarterly aberration remains to be seen.

After back to back years of well-above average growth, however, a pullback in growth at some point during the year would not be surprising.

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