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Global sales of smart conveyors are set to quadruple
The global market for smart multi-carrier conveyor technologies is set to quadruple in size between 2020 and 2026, with a CAGR of 26.5%, according a new study from Interact Analysis. The market is still relatively immature with most entrants having joined in the past five years. But the report describes it as “highly dynamic” and “poised for growth” with new entrants likely to shake it up.
At present, the market is dominated by two suppliers: Beckhoff Automation which accounted for 29% of revenues in 2021 (when the global market was worth almost $300m) and Rockwell Automation on 24.5%. Other players include B&R Automation, Siemens/Festo and Yamaha. Schneider Electric launched its Lexium MC12 multi-carrier system in 2021, and Italy’s Motor Power Company is another recent entrant with its ILSM (independent linear synchronous motors) system.
The market consists essentially of two technologies: linear-motor-driven systems and levitating “planar” systems – one recent example of which is Bosch Rexroth’s ctrlX Flow6D system.
Interact Analysis says its research has revealed several automation vendors with a “clear intention” to launch new smart conveyor technologies in the coming years. Most are already producers of linear motors or servo technologies and some are likely to emerge from the increasingly technology-led Chinese market. Tim Dawson, senior research director at Interact, predicts that these entrants, who haven’t yet made themselves public, “could dramatically change the global supplier landscape”.
Dawson believes that the growth in manufacturing and automation, coupled with benefits such as flexibility and space saving, will drive demand for the new technologies. The growth of digitalisation, Industry 4.0 and mass customisation “will also undoubtedly positively affect the market”. As the technology is accepted more widely, larger projects with longer track lengths will also be deployed, increasing revenues and expanding the market.
Because most suppliers of the smart conveyor technologies are based in Europe, EMEA was the largest market in 2020, with combined revenues of around $100m. Asia-Pacific was worth $84m and the Americas $50m. But Dawson expects sales in the APAC region to overtake EMEA during 2023. By 2026, the APAC market could be worth $450m, ahead of $350m for EMEA and $185m for the Americas.
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