The industrial automation hardware market will grow to $64 billion.

As a result of the expanding digital transformation in manufacturing, the automation hardware market is undergoing tremendous change. Manufacturers are increasingly attempting to uncover best-of-breed offers by utilising product openness and merging these disparate assets into a comprehensive overall solution. Next-generation Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs), Industrial Personal Computers (IPCs), and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are critical for installing new factory architecture, and each market will grow rapidly over the next decade. According to a study conducted by global technological intelligence firm ABI Research, the automation hardware market is expected to grow from $38.7 billion in 2023 to $64 billion in 2033, representing a 5.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). With sales expected to reach $30 billion by 2033, the PLC market is the largest industrial automation hardware segment.

“PLC market growth is being driven by new manufacturing requirements, such as those for smart connected products, EVs, and battery manufacturing,” stated James Prestwood, Industrial and Manufacturing Industry Analyst at ABI Research. “New production techniques and a ‘digital-first’ mindset are also encouraging new automation solutions like software-based PLCs.” Software-based PLCs are becoming an increasingly important transformational force in the PLC market. Siemens’ SIMATIC S7-1500V, a virtual PLC fully independent of hardware that is downloaded and integrated directly into a manufacturer’s IT environment, best exemplifies this trend.

Siemens, Mitsubishi Electric, Rockwell Automation, Emerson, and ABB are among the major competitors in the industrial automation hardware industry, accounting for around 42% of the total market share. However, other prominent industry companies like Omron, Phoenix Contact, Honeywell, Bosch Rexroth, and Beckhoff are also present. According to ABI Research, large PLCs (controllers with more than 1024 Inputs/Outputs (I/Os)) would have the most robust growth compared to other PLC classes (Micro, Small, and Medium), with a CAGR of 6.1% and revenues of US$5.6 billion by 2033. “As manufacturers continue to adopt automation solutions with complex architectures, which increasingly demand powerful PLC assets, large PLC controllers are the ideal solution, rather than using multiple smaller PLCs to achieve similar results,” Prestwood said.