Total sales of machine vision components and systems fell over four percent in 2012, but are expected to rebound in 2013 according to new statistics issued by the AIA (Ann Arbor, MI, USA), the industry's trade group.
"In 2012 the vision market in North America suffered from a slowdown in the second half of the year caused in part by the uncertainty over the US Presidential election as well as a cooling manufacturing environment," says Jeff Burnstein, AIA President. "However, based on surveys of our members, we see an optimistic outlook about the economy and North American manufacturing, which indicates a likely return to growth in 2013."
The overall North American vision market totaled $1.8bn in 2012. While some segments such as cameras, lighting and imaging boards saw increased sales last year, optics, software, smart cameras and application specific machine vision systems sales declined.
"The contraction in machine vision sales in 2012 was not surprising, as many companies reduced capital equipment expenditures late in the year. Despite the decline, the industry's historical trend-line still points upward," says Alex Shikany, AIA's Director of Market Analysis.
Founded in 1984 to advance the understanding and use of imaging and vision technologies and to drive global expansion and growth through education and promotion, AIA represents over 310 vision suppliers, system integrators, users, researchers, and consulting firms from 32 countries.
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