Evidence that the US industrial controls market is starting to bounce back has come from new figures released by the Nema - the US National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

Nema`s Primary Industrial Control Index - representing US orders for items such as motor starters, contactors, PLCs, sensors, and terminal blocks - grew by 7% in the first quarter of this year, and by a further 8% in the second quarter. These rises follow a period during which the index had dropped in seven out of nine quarters.

However, the sales are still well below 2001 figures. "The downside is that, after having fallen so far and for so long, the rebound has not yet turned year-on-year growth positive," reports Steve Wilcox, Nema`s director for economics. Even with the improved figures, growth during the first and second quarters was 22% and 3% lower than the same periods last year.

A second Nema index, which includes variable speed drives, also recorded quarter-on-quarter growth rates of around 7%, but the first quarter was 18% down on the same period in 2001, while the second quarter was almost the same as in 2001.

According to Nema, the factor driving the renewed growth is capacity utilisation, which began to fall in the second half of 2000, before reaching a low point of 73% in the fourth quarter of 2001. The first two quarters of 2002 have seen a "modest resurgence" in this index, helping to spur demand for automation equipment.

The US industrial controls market is worth around $2.6bn..