The world industrial PC (IPC) market was hit very hard by the global recession, but rebounded nicely in 2010. Now IMS Research forecasts strong growth to 2015, rising by 70% over 2010.
IPC revenues took a big hit in all major regions in 2009. Japan saw the biggest drop (32%), followed closely by Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA, 26%) and the Americas (22%). Asia-Pacific fared better, falling just 9% in 2009. All regions and industrial sectors registered strong growth in 2010, however, as projects that had been postponed came back online and IPC distributors and users replenished stock, IMS said.
Strong growth is projected to continue to 2015, with the world IPC market increasing from estimated total revenues of $2.07 billion in 2010 to $3.52 billion in 2015, according to the latest research from IMS.
Several sectors—transportation and traffic, medical, military, digital signage, and security (CCTV) systems—are expected to see above-average growth during this period, according to report author Mark Watson. Within the traditional industrial sector, increasing labor costs in typically low-cost manufacturing regions such as China and India will spur increased use of process automation, which will benefit the IPC markets of developing regions.