Process plant investment to rebound in 2010

Manchester, UK - Total process plant investment is expected to decline by 2% in 2008/09 and again by 2% in 2009/10, according to market analysts MBD. This decline, it said, reflects the current economic downturn, with a number of key end use industries significantly reducing investment.

Manchester-based MBD, however, expects investment to increase in the following three years, cumulating in growth of 12% in real terms between 2009/10 and 2012/13. In the latter year, investment is projected to reach £9016 million , representing real term growth of 7% compared with 2007/08.

Chemicals industry spending grew by just 1% to come in at £2250 million -about 27% of the UK process plant spend and the largest share of total process plant expenditure. Except for a projected 2% decline in 2008/09, however, investment by the sector is forecast to increase by 7% in real terms between 2007/08 and 2012/13.

MBD also expects the food & drink processing sector to continue to be impacted by the economic downturn with a 3% decline forcast in 2008/09. In the following four years, investment is anticipated to increase, with annual growth levels projected to fluctuate between 2% and 4%. In 2012/13, expenditure is forecast to reach £1903 million, equivalent to growth of 8% in real terms compared with 2007/08, according to the MBD report.

Meanwhile, MBD estimated that the UK overall process plant spend had registered a year-on-year increase of around 2% in 2008, to reach £8454 million. This, it noted, represented a significant decline from the stronger growth of 9% recorded in the previous year, reflecting the emergence of economic uncertainties in the process industries last year.