Www Nema Org News Documents Ind Index 4qtr 12 Chts
Www Nema Org News Documents Ind Index 4qtr 12 Chts
Www Nema Org News Documents Ind Index 4qtr 12 Chts
Www Nema Org News Documents Ind Index 4qtr 12 Chts
Www Nema Org News Documents Ind Index 4qtr 12 Chts

Shipments of Industrial Control Equipment Weakened Further in Fourth Quarter

March 11, 2013
NEMA’s Primary Industrial Controls Index decreased 1.6% on a quarter-to-quarter basis during the fourth quarter of 2012.

NEMA’s Primary Industrial Controls Index decreased 1.6% on a quarter-to-quarter basis during the fourth quarter of 2012. However, the index stands 5.1% above its year-ago level and 43% above the cyclical trough observed in mid-2009. Nonetheless, inflation- and seasonally adjusted shipments still remain below the pre-recession peak reached in 2007. The Primary Industrial Controls and Adjustable Speed Drives Index, a broader measure of industrial controls demand, also posted a slight decline during the fourth quarter of 2012, falling 0.3% following a 1.2% loss in the third quarter. However, the index increased 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

The softening in the indexes has coincided with a slowdown in manufacturing activity. Although the sector experienced a surge in the first quarter of 2012, the rest of the year did not fare as well as factory production failed to top 2% in the last three quarters of 2012.  Still, the forward-looking ISM manufacturing index for new orders hovered above the break-even mark of 50 on average in the fourth quarter and suggests stronger improvement in the first half of 2013.  Production growth is forecasted at 1.4% year-over-year for 2013, before picking up to over 3% in 2014 amidst stronger demand domestically and globally. Industrial controls shipments are likely to see a similar trajectory.

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