China, India to drive operator terminal demand

Wellingborough, UK -- The world market for operator terminals is set to grow at around 7% to 2011, according to an IMS market report. Growth, it said, should be highest in Asia Pacific, which accounted for about 20% of a global market worth around $1.5 billion in 2005.

According to IMS, Asia Pacific will see double-digit growth on the back of increasing use of operator terminals in the Chinese and Indian industrial automation markets. Both countries are expected to experience rapid increases in demand for operator terminal products, the report added.

Touch-screen type products are likely to dominate. By 2011, the touch-screen operator terminal segment is projected to account for approximately 80% of the total Asia Pacific market, said the IMS report. More basic product types, such as text displays and text operator terminals will, meanwhile, show “reasonable growth in China and India as machine builders in these countries continue to produce extremely price competitive products.”

Unit shipments of text-based terminals to China and India, which are typically used in more basic applications, are expected to reach nearly 180,000 by 2011, compared to just over 190,000 in the entire EMEA region, said the report.

IMS analyst Mark Watson, further commented: China and India “are seeing an increase in the number of manufacturing facilities that they accommodate due to their advantageous labour costs, which can give companies operating in the international arena a significant advantage. This is in turn influencing the size and growth of their operator terminal markets.”