Machine vision revenues show signs of slowing, says IMS

02 August 2011

The growth in machine vision revenues shows signs of slowing, according to John Morse, a senior analyst at IMS Research. He says that this was not entirely unexpected following the dramatic recovery from recession during 2010. Quoting from IMS Research’s Machine Vision 2011 report, he had estimated that during 2010 global revenues grew by nearly 40%, fully recovering from the devastating fall during 2009.

“This levelling of growth rate is no surprise and was forecast in the latest edition of the report, published in February this year," says Morse. "What is a bit surprising is the sharp decline detected in the first half year results from the IMS Research machine vision quarterly market tracker, particularly in the Americas and Asia. EMEA seems to be holding up better at this time."

The completion of re-stocking following the down-turn is a likely factor contributing to this slowing of growth rate. Global revenues are still projected to grow about 10% in 2011, compared with IMS Research’s estimate for global industrial activity, which is projected to grow 7-8%. The longer term prospects for machine vision are forecast to be better but Morse advises that the warning signs suggest there is no room for complacency.