The global PLC market, which was hit hard by the world recession during 2009, is showing signs of a modest recovery. The market analyst IMS Research is predicting that the market, which was worth around $6.3bn last year, will expand by about $600m during 2010. However, it warns, revenues will not return to 2008 levels before 2012.

“Some uncertain factors still remain,” points out IMS analyst, Alex Hong. “For example, with concerns over sovereign debt in several countries in Europe, and with government austerity measures to address them, we cannot yet rule out a double-dip recession.” If this happens, the PLC market could turn down again.

However, Hong adds, business confidence is a more important factor. Business for many PLC manufacturers recovered slightly in early 2010 as many plans and projects which had been stopped in 2009, were reactivated. PLC manufacturers are expecting a strong recovery after 2010 and hope that the market will soon return to 2008 levels.

The latest edition of IMS’ World Market for PLCs report says that the recovery of the PLC market depends on different industries in different regions. In Japan, for example, PLC manufacturers rely heavily on the performance of their LED/LCD and semiconductor industries. In Europe, car production is a major driving force, while in the Asia-Pacific region, textile machinery is the biggest machine-building sector. All of these industries performed badly in 2009, but are showing a healthy – but slow – recovery in 2010. They will be the pillars to support PLC manufacturers as they seek to regain their business, IMS says.