An increased need for intrinsically safe I/O modules and higher demand from the the Middle East BRIC countries is what a new ARC Advisory Group's global market research study "Process Automation I/O Modules Global Market Research Study," shows is driving market growth for process I/O modules.
The process I/O modules market has always been large in Europe, Japan and North America, but regions like Latin America, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, namely China, India, Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and some other countries are anticipating the most growth, according to ARC.
Specific hardware that is predicted to see above average market growth include:
•   Intrinsically safe I/O modules – Increases in installments in harsh and explosive environments makes intrinsically safe components essential, which in return are creating a higher demand.
•   Network adapters
•   Intelligent I/O
"The product portfolio of many suppliers of I/O modules shows a broad bandwidth of different types," according to Stefan Miksch, the principal author of ARC's study. While big suppliers leverage their installed base, third-party suppliers of process I/O modules concentrate on specialized I/O modules and compatible I/O modules that fit to the control systems of the big suppliers."
Process I/O modules are in high demand for the oil & gas and electric power industry. Rising interest in energy and energy distribution are pushing these market sectors to growth beyond the market average. If these industries perform well over the course of the next five years, explosive protection automation solutions are predicted to rise, generating a higher demand for explosive protected or intrinsically safe process I/O modules.
While 2013 shows growth at a slower pace compared to 2012, ARC predicts levels to remain low until the end of year, but pick up the pace again in 2014 and later.
