The growth of the project market in the first quarter of 2024 was mainly driven by infrastructure-related industries, while the decline of the OEM market was mainly due to the significant decline in China's domestic economy and the significant decline in multi-industry demand. At the international level, the global economic downturn and the continued slowdown in external demand growth have also had a greater impact on the growth of China's foreign trade.
In the first quarter of 2024, China's overall automation market sales of 78.3 billion, compared with the same period last year slightly decreased by 1.5%, the first quarter year-on-year data declined for two consecutive years, the overall market is still in the downturn stage. According to the comparison of the historical data of MIR DATABANK, the absolute value of the first quarter is generally the peak of the whole year, and the absolute value of the last three quarters is decreasing
* Product lines in the overall market data mainly include: HMI, CNC systems, sensors, controllers, inverters, intelligent manufacturing, industrial components, process automation, motion control.
So what has changed in the automation market in 2024 compared to 2023? How are the downstream industries doing? What development trends can be seen from the first quarter annual report of Chinese automation enterprises? What are the main aspects of the overall automation market in the three quarters after 2024? MIR will parse them one by one.
Changes and Dynamics of the Automation market in Q1 2024:
1, the OEM market is only growing in individual industries, and the overall market is still driven by the project market.
2, lithium, photovoltaic demand contraction, 3C electronics market has signs of recovery, but the overall recovery of the downstream industry is still not obvious.
3. Ac servo, low-voltage inverter, HMI and other product lines have negative growth for five consecutive quarters, domestic demand continues to be insufficient, and policy support is needed for recovery.
4, ten Chinese automation listed companies announced financial results, challenges and opportunities coexist. The wave of lay-offs by foreign companies has been hit by international tensions and the rise of automation in China.
Industrial automation market according to the downstream industry can be divided into project market and OEM market, project market representative industries include metallurgy, chemical, petrochemical, power, paper, etc. OEM market representative downstream industries include lithium battery, silicon crystal, textile chemical fiber, printing and packaging, logistics equipment, etc. In the first quarter of 2024, the OEM market decreased by 7% year on year, while the project market increased by 2%.
In terms of sub-industries, the OEM market only achieved positive growth in eight industries, such as textile, packaging, industrial robots, and HVAC, while the project-based market only saw a decline in petrochemical and electric power, down 20% and 4% respectively.
The growth of the project market in the first quarter of 2024 was mainly driven by infrastructure-related industries, while the decline of the OEM market was mainly due to the significant decline in China's domestic economy and the significant decline in multi-industry demand. At the international level, the global economic downturn and the continued slowdown in external demand growth have also had a greater impact on the growth of China's foreign trade.
In 2023, the photovoltaic giants led by Jinkosolar and Longi Green Energy have greatly expanded in the major links of the photovoltaic industry chain, resulting in a number of core links with overcapacity. Since March 2024, the prices of silicon materials, silicon wafers and batteries in the upstream of the photovoltaic industry chain have declined again. The situation of the battery downstream industry is basically the same, in the first quarter of 2024, both are in a state of decline.
MIR DATABANK further verified this trend when monitoring data in the first quarter of 2024. According to the downstream data statistics of the main product lines such as servo, inverter, PLC, HMI, it was found that the battery and photovoltaic decreased compared with the same period last year; The electronic manufacturing industry, which has been silent for a long time, is on the rise.
