Increasing growth expected in ac drive markets

A February 2002 market research and technology forecast report, "AC Drives Outlook for North America 2002-2006," from Drives Research Corp. (DRC), is injecting some much-needed realism into market growth figures. In contrast to other recent studies, DRC sees just the start of modest growth for ac drives in 2002, following "a double-digit decline in 2001.

By Frank Bartos May 1, 2002

A February 2002 market research and technology forecast report, “AC Drives Outlook for North America 2002-2006,” from Drives Research Corp. (DRC), is injecting some much-needed realism into market growth figures. In contrast to other recent studies, DRC sees just the start of modest growth for ac drives in 2002, following “a double-digit decline in 2001.”

In 2001, some of the largest ac drive suppliers in North America absorbed major sales decreases. At the same time, a number of second-tier suppliers “managed to increase sales revenues through focused application-specific product and marketing solutions,” according to DRC’s report.

For 2002 nearly 3% growth is forecast for North American ac drives, with end-user/equipment markets predicted to gain 2.2%.

“We expect the billion-dollar-plus North American ac drives market to post nearly 6% CAGR [compound annual growth rate] through 2006, compared to 8% achieved from 1995 to 2000,” says Tom Kaporch, DRC’s president and principal author of the report.

Author Information

Frank Bartos, executive editor fbartos@cahners.com