New statistics from the Automated Imaging Association (AIA) -- the industry’s trade group -- show that machine vision sales in North America rose 15% through the third quarter of 2011.
After a strong first half, sales fell 2% in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2010. "After six consecutive quarters of growth, the third quarter results indicate that we may be in for slower growth in the near term," says Jeff Burnstein, president of AIA.
Industry executives appear to agree, as the AIA report shows a majority of reporting companies (54%) expect sales to stay at current levels for the next six months. 34% expect a decrease, while only 14% expect an increase.
Paul Kellett, AIA’s director of market analysis, adds, "The modest slowdown in machine vision sales in the third quarter would appear to follow the performance of the manufacturing sector, which has lost some steam as of late. A near-term uptick in the expansion of manufacturing sector, however, would most likely resound to the benefit of machine vision companies."
AIA will provide further updates on the machine vision market at the upcoming AIA Business Conference in Orlando on Jan. 18-20, 2012.
-- By Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design
