NEMA’s 3Q02 industrial control business indices show uneven recovery

Rosslyn, VA —The National Electrical Manufacturers Association ion.

“Even as they improved relative to last year, in both cases the indexes actually lost some ground compared to 2Q02, which serves to highlight the rapid declines these industries experienced throughout 2001.” says Steve Wilcox, NEMA’s economics director.

The Primary Industrial Control Index value of 77.3 represents a 3.5% decline from 2Q02 to 3Q02, but translates into a razor-thin growth of 0.4% over 3Q01.

Compared to 2Q02, the Primary Industrial Control and Adjustable Speed Drives Index dipped just 0.6%. Coming in at a value of 99.6, the index for 3Q02 posted a solid 3.3% gain over the same period last year. Strength in the adjustable speed drive sector clearly boosted this measure relative to the Primary Industrial Control Index.

“Production of industrial machinery and investment in industrial structures have continued to slump, and a good deal of excess capacity remains in manufacturing,” says Mr. Wilcox. “The combined effect of these factors has restrained the growth potential in the industrial control and adjustable speed drive sectors.”

The NEMA Industrial Control Business Indices are issued quarterly by NEMA in two versions. The Primary Industrial Control Index represents U.S. orders for motor starters, contactors, terminal blocks, control circuit devices, motor control centers, sensors, programmable controllers and other industrial control devices. Because these data have been collected for some time, the primary index illustrates the market’s trend over several years.

In 2001, the NEMA data collection program was expanded to include adjustable speed drives, a key energy-saving industrial component. The Primary Industrial Control and Adjustable Speed Drives Index provides a broader measure of the industrial control marketplace. Industrial control equipment, a $2.6 billion U.S. market, is primarily used in industrial applications for the control or regulation or both of power utilization apparatus, including motors. This index represents monthly sales information collected by NEMA from its members, the major industrial control manufacturers in the U.S. market. The data underlying these indices represent more than 90% percent of U.S. sales of this equipment.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com

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