In the newest version of ARC Advisory Group’s Distributed Control Systems Worldwide Outlook, study, ABB retained its leading worldwide market position, based on revenues. According to the study, the global DCS (distributed control system) market in 2012 grew modestly, with stronger growth in North America and Latin America. The overall market for DCS increased by three percent, while North America increased by almost 18 percent.
The ARC report stated that there were several factors that contributed to the Americas regional growth in 2012. The overall economic recovery in North America has been stronger than in other parts of the world; contributing factors to this include the increased use of new technologies in oil & gas production and related petrochemical project expansion in the region. Globally, prices for oil, gas and other commodities have remained at a level that can support new production investments. The resurgence in power generation projects, especially in gas-fired combined cycle projects, also increased demand for DCS.
According to the study, based on revenues, ABB was also the market share leader for Latin America, and Europe/Mid East/Africa (EMEA) regions. ABB remained the global market share leader for both Service and Software and the worldwide leader in key global verticals including Oil & Gas, Mining & Metals, and Pulp & Paper.
The report also notes that the DCS business has been and will continue to be primarily a services business, with combined project, engineering and operational services accounting for more than half of total projects revenues. The shortage of qualified engineers will contribute to the growing need for these services. The use of new information technologies, such as virtualization and collaboration portals, give EPC and end user firms the ability to access teams for global projects from a worldwide pool of technical talent.
Additional information on the DCS worldwide outlook, as well as other studies on the global automation market, is available at www.arcweb.com