Asia Pacific Factory Automation and Industrial Controls Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The Asia Pacific Factory Automation and Industrial Controls Market is expected to register a CAGR of approximately 10.87% during the forecast period (2021 - 2026). The COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the construction and development of new manufacturing units and plants in the region related to the market. However, the same is expected to resume operation and further contribute to the market. For instance, ABB’s industrial robotics factory in Shanghai resumed construction work in March 2020 and is expected to be operational in 2021.

Key Highlights

• Moreover, with China being one of the worst-hit countries in the COVID 19 outbreak, the pandemic has also highlighted the need for factory automation to replace labor to deal with a skilled labor shortage and avoid disruption in the workflow due to the unprecedented nature of the situation. According to ABB, 81% of companies amongst 1,900 construction firms based in China, the United States, and Europe surveyed are likely to adopt industrial robots.
• Furthermore, the Asia-Pacific factory automation and industrial control systems market is primarily driven by the increased focus on enhancing process efficiencies and reducing the cost of production across various industry verticals. Manufacturing serves as a significant industry in Asia-Pacific and China’s economy being a significant contributor is undergoing a rapid transformation as labor costs have risen and the conventional model of migrant workers has lost the sustainability. Such trends have pushed the economy to adopt automation as a part of their manufacturing processes.
• Moreover, the communications support for automated processes have facilitated easier adoption among the manufacturers. Sensor components, faster networks, quality diagnostic software, and flexible interfaces with high levels of reliability and secured hierarchical access, along with error-correction options have added productivity, continued quality deliveries, and minimized the cost of manufacturing in the region.
• For instance, the collaboration between Mitsubishi Electric and Intel on the next-generation factory automation system for Intel’s manufacturing facility in Malaysia; This has enabled field data generation from semiconductor manufacturing lines to be analyzed for improving operational performance and contribute to energy savings, thereby, cost savings toward a sustainable society.
• With IoT at the center of new technological approaches for development, production, and the entire logistics chain, otherwise known as smart factory automation, has further driven the adoption of industrial automation in the region. For instance, the Japanese government approved a plan known as the ‘Rebirth of Japan,’ which outlines the route towards strengthening the manufacturing sector further by targeting the development of USD 1.3 trillion. It is expected that, by 2023, companies in the industrial sector could grow revenues by as much as USD 490 billion as a result of Industry 4.0.​

Key Market Trends

Automotive Industry to Drive the Market Growth

• The automotive industry is one of the prominent sectors that hold a significant share in automated manufacturing facilities. It is observed that the production facilities of various automakers are automated to maintain accuracy and efficiency. Further, the growing trend of replacing conventional vehicles with EVs is expected to further augment the automotive industry's demand.
• Automation, in the region, is currently no stranger to automotive shop floors. In fact, Machine Vision has found a way in the automotive making by carrying out imaging-based automatic inspection and analysis for automatic inspection and process control. Whereas automation software and control systems have been supporting everything from component supply to the delivery of new vehicles.
• In November 2020, Hyundai Motors announced a partnership with the Indonesian government to build its first manufacturing plant in the country. Hyundai Robotics launched as a new company on May 1st, 2020, mentioned that the order is for 370 industrial robotic arms for the new facility. Located near Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city, Hyundai Motors' first manufacturing plant in Southeast Asia is anticipated to be built by 2022. The plant is being constructed in an area of 776,000 sq m, with a manufacturing capacity of up to 250,000 cars.
• In October 2020, DENSO, a Japan based automotive supplier developed its own cloud-native Factory-IoT platform, to connect all its factories around the world via cloud, this has strengthened DENSO’s global production system, by enabling factories to respond immediately to production changes based on local demand, and allow production teams to conduct real-time analysis of the movement of workers and operation statuses of different facilities.
• The Smart Advanced Manufacturing and Rapid Transformation Hub (SAMARTH) Udyog Bharat 4.0 initiative aims at enhancing awareness about Industry 4.0 within the Indian manufacturing industry and help stakeholders address challenges related to smart manufacturing.

China to Hold Significant Market Share

• China has led the industrial robot market, which has driven its way to factory automation in the region and is one of the leading manufacturing countries in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. The increase in shipment of industrial robots in the country and the adoption of various Industrial Control System software across the country facilitates factory automation at scale.
• Manufacturing is one of the pillars of China's economy and is undergoing a rapid transformation. As the population ages, along with rising labor costs, the legacy model based on inexpensive migrant workers is no longer sustainable. Moreover, 70% of the world’s computers, communication equipment, and consumer electronics are made in China.
• The country’s aging population necessitates automation. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s working-age population, people aged between 15 and 64 years, is 998 million. The decline in this population started in 2014, and is expected to drop as low as 800 million by 2050.
• The industrial control system in the country has emerged across various fields, like the energy, transportation, water, and municipal sectors. Due to the deep integration of information technology and industry and the rapid development of the Internet of Things, the networked control system is becoming the development trend of industrial automation in China.
• The number of companies deploying factory and process automation technologies and robotics in the country is less when compared to the enormous size of China’s manufacturing base and the number of workers it employs. This trend presents a great opportunity for companies in the industrial automation sector in China.

Competitive Landscape

The Asia Pacific factory automation and industrial controls market is competitive due to several players in the market. Players are involved in product development and strategic activities such as partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions. Some of the key developments in the market are:

• April 2021 - Youibot, a start-up company that makes industrial robots, closed an investment of USD 15.47 million in the funding round led by SoftBank Ventures Asia alongside others. The company generates 80% of its annual revenue in China and has plans to spend the raised funds on research and development.
• March 2021 - Singapore Telecommunications and Hyundai Motor Company entered into an MoU to collaborate and develop a 5G-enabled smart factory use case for the manufacturing platform of Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre Singapore.
• February 2021 - Mitsubishi Electric announced the establishment of Industrial Mechatronics Systems Works within the premises of the company’s Nagoya Works in Nagoya, Japan.

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