Report

The Programmable Logic Controller Market size is estimated at USD 12.83 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 15.07 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.23% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

Key Highlights
-PLC is the major computing system that manages automated machines. The system also assists in detecting errors or flaws and cautions the technician. Due to their packed sizes, PLC systems are desired over traditional ones, like relays and switch boxes. Another benefit of PLCs is their multi-functionality (due to their programmable nature that can be utilized for multiple operations relying on the application).
-Machine downtime is a significant factor affecting an industry's manufacturing efficiency. Downtime is responsible for 5-20% of the manufacturing losses during operation. Installing PLC systems allows the identification and rectification of errors and can create quick reactions even without human intervention, thereby bringing efficiency into industrial processes.
-Industry automation is one of the significant factors driving the growth of the PLC market. Automation can be described as automatic processing systems to improve the efficiency and reduce human intervention in the process via the optimal usage of resources. The industries have now discovered the reliability and long-term profits that can be accomplished by utilizing automated systems. Conveyor systems & packaging systems, among others, can be automated using PLC systems. The growing penetration of automation in the industrial sector isn also anticipated to favor the studied market's growth.
-Furtheremore, PLCs also help control manufacturing processes, like assembly lines, robotic devices, or any activity requiring high-reliability control and easy programming & operation fault diagnosis. PLCs are growing and remain the best choice for different industrial automation applications. Scalability, greater memory, smaller sizes, high-speed (gigabit) Ethernet, & built-in wireless are among the emerging programmable logic controller capabilities.
-Due to modern consumers' need for personalized products, industries have driven themselves from a mass production model into mass customization. PLCs are broadly embraced in industries whose processes do not change. However, the growing end-user need for customization of products has made the manufacturing processes more refined and complicated, with the need for frequent adjustments, consequently fueling the end-users to adopt and invest in more flexible systems, like PC-based and cloud-based controllers, rather than PLCs which is challenging the studied market's growth.
-Macroeconomic factors such as the genera economic condition of a region, geopolitical issues, etc. plays a crucial role in the industrial sector's growth as these factors influence the investment and expansion capabilities of the industrial sector. For instance, the recent Russia Ukraine war is impacting several countries on both economic as well as geopolitical stability verticals, which in turn is creating an unfavorable condition for the growth of the industrial sector. As PLCs are widely used in industries, such trends hamper the studied market's growth.


PLC Market Trends

Automotive is Expected to Be the Fastest-growing End-user Industry


- PLCs are used at the manufacturing stage to handle the growing demands of the automotive industry. Initially, these were employed as relay replacement equipment in automotive manufacturing. PLCs let manufacturers work smarter & faster, and as automated processes reduce the occurrence of bottlenecks, this reduces expenses in operation and production time in the industry.
- Manufacturing plants of various automotive companies have been experiencing manufacturing changes to integrate new technology into the manufacturing stream to improve productivity and efficiency. For instance, ATS Applied Tech Systems Ltd developed a tracking and tracing system for airbags using InTrack, InTouch, and GE-Fanuc PLCs to gain full error-proofing and traceability. Using the system set-up, it is feasible to trace the airbag's origin and the production machines' status during manufacturing, in case a fault is detected, even up to 10 years after production.
- It has been identified that automation has significantly increased the efficiency of auto assembly process. As a result, it is showing a growing pattern in the number of cars being produced globally while simultaneously cutting costs, paving the way for the growth of smart factories' implementation in this sector. For many years, the automotive industry has used robots in the assembly lines for various manufacturing processes. Nowadays, automakers are exploring the use of robotics in more procedures. Robots are more flexible, efficient, accurate, and dependable for these product lines. This technology also enables the automotive industry to remain one of the most significant adopters of industrial and possess one of the most automated supply chains.
- There has been an increasing demand for automobiles across the world. According to Scotiabank, worldwide automobile sales will reach 69.9 million units by 2023 and are anticipated to be more in forthcoming years.
- Furthermore, the growing proliferation of trends such as electrification of vehicles, connected and autonomous cars, etc. are also anticipated to influence the studied market's growth significantly as these automobiles generally use a larger number of electronic and control units wherein PLCs play a crucial role. Hence, the growing such trends are anticipated to drive opportunities in the studied market during the forecast period.


Asia-Pacific is Expected to Witness a Faster Growth


- In the last few decades, the Asia Pacific region has witnessed remarkable growth across various sectors, including automotive, industrial, manufacturing, etc., and is anticipated to continue its upward growth trajectory during the forecast period, creating opportunities in the studied market. For instance, the manufacturing sector constitutes a substantial part of China's economy, which is experiencing a fast transformation with the current growth in IoT due to the expansion of Industry 4.0 around the manufacturing industries worldwide. This large-scale conversion has put the country in one of the top positions in the PLC market.
- India is fueled by the increasing usage of robotic process automation (RPA) & artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies. According to the global RPA forum Automation Anywhere, India is presently its second-biggest revenue generator behind the United States. Global capacity centers, service providers, and Indian enterprises are its most prominent customers in India.
- India's industrial automation sector has been transformed by the integration of digital and physical aspects of manufacturing to provide optimum performance. The emphasis on acquiring zero waste production and a faster time to reach the market has augmented the market's growth.
- Japan has the most significant market share in the robot manufacturing industry and installed methods where industrial robots are used to assemble robots. According to a report by IFR in March 2022, Japan is the world's number on industrial robot manufacturer, delivering 45% of the global supply for robots worldwide. Such instances are anticipated to drive the demand for automation, resulting in the developing of PLCs in the region.
- The other countries from the Asia-Pacific region include countries like South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and Thailand. With the excellent availability of raw materials and cheaper land rates, Thailand and Malaysia are gradually emerging as major industrial hubs, an alternative to China. This trend is anticipated to favor the growth of the PLC market in Asia-Pacific.


PLC Industry Overview

The programmable logic controller (PLC) Market is moderately fragmented, with major players such as ABB Ltd, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Schneider Electric SE, Rockwell Automation Inc, and Siemens AG. Players in the market are adopting strategies like partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions to enhance their product offerings and gain sustainable competitive advantage.


- July 2023 - Siemens launched a complete virtual programmable logic controller. The Simatic S7-1500V expands the company's existing Simatic portfolio to special market requirements, including virtual hosting of PLC computing. According to the company, Simatic S7-1500V is part of Industrial Operations X, under which the company is consistently focusing on integrating IT and software capabilities into the automation landscape.
- November 2022 - Arduino announced its "first micro PLC," the Opta, a powerful gadget devised with the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) at the fore. In addition, it is designed in partnership with Finder. It uses an STMicro STM32H747XI dual-core microcontroller, which contains a single high-performance Arm Cortex-M7 core operating at up to 480MHz & a lower-power Cortex-M4 core driving at up to 240MHz alongside a disseminated floating-point unit (FPU), Chrom-ART accelerator, a hardware JPEG accelerator, 2MB flash, a total of 1,056kB of RAM plus 1,024-byte and 4kB backup static RAM (SRAM).


Additional Benefits:

- The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
- 3 months of analyst support