Global PLC market returns to growth in 2017, after two-year contraction
兩年萎縮之后，全球PLC市場2017年將重拾漲勢

The global market for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) suffered strong headwinds and contracted by 11.5 percent in 2015, with revenue falling to $8.3 billion, according to the IHS Markit PLCs Annual Intelligence Service. The market will continue to contract through 2016 for several reasons, including an unfavorable economic climate in emerging economies. Other concerns include China’s ongoing economic slowdown and overcapacity in most heavy industries, as well as the end of the commodity super-cycle. However, there is light on the horizon: global revenue from PLCs, with their associated software and services, are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8 percent from 2017 to 2020, reaching $9.3 billion.

《IHS Markit PLC年度情報服務》顯示，2015年全球可編程邏輯控制器（PLC）市場經歷強烈的動蕩，市場萎縮了11.5%，銷售額下降到83億美元。由于多種原因，包括新興經濟體不利的經濟環境等，這一市場在2016年將繼續萎縮。其他問題包括中國持續的經濟放緩和大多數重工業的產能過剩，以及大宗商品超級周期的結束。但是，曙光來了：PLC及其相關軟件和服務的全球收入，從2017年到2020年，預計將以3.8％的復合年增長率（CAGR）增長，達到93億美元。

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will continue to be the largest regional market for PLCs, accounting for over one third of the 2020 global revenues. The Asia-Pacific market will grow the fastest over the next five years -- especially from 2018 to 2020 – driven by the fast-growing Indian and Southeast Asian markets and a recovering Chinese market tied to South Korean and Taiwanese markets. The American region is expected to be the second-fastest growing market, with a strong recovery starting in 2017.  

歐洲，中東和非洲地區（EMEA）將繼續是PLC的最大區域市場，占2020年全球收入的三分之一以上。由于印度和東南亞市場增長較快，同時與韓國和臺灣市場息息相關的中國市場復蘇，亞太市場將在未來五年內增長最快，特別是從2018年到2020年。美國地區預計將是第二快的增長市場，從2017年開始強勁復蘇。

Of course, the performance of the PLC market depends largely on the underlying growth in the discrete and process-manufacturing sectors where PLCs are mainly applied. Machine tools, packaging machinery and automotive sectors were the three largest markets for PLCs. However, these markets, -- especially the machine tool sector -- are forecast to grow more slowly from 2015 to 2020 than the market average. The machine-tool sector suffered a big decline in 2015 in China and the United States, which are the leading national markets for machine tools.

當然，PLC市場的表現在很大程度上取決于主要應用PLC的離散和過程制造行業的潛在增長。機床、包裝機械和汽車行業是PLC的三大市場。然而，這幾個市場，特別是機床行業，預計從2015年到2020年增長速度要低于市場平均水平。2015年，機床行業在中國和美國市場大幅下滑，而這兩個國家正是全球領先的機床市場。

In discrete-manufacturing sectors, robotics is still the fastest growing for PLCs. Currently robots are widely used in automotive manufacturing, the electrical and electronics industries, and other fast-growing industrial production industries. As core components of robots, PLCs are expected to benefit greatly from the global robot boom.  Food, beverage and tobacco machinery will be the second-fastest growing sector from 2015 to 2020. In process manufacturing sectors, water and wastewater, pharmaceutical and power-generation sectors are forecast to grow most quickly.

在離散制造行業，機器人仍然是PLC發展最快的領域。目前機器人廣泛應用于汽車制造、電氣電子工業等快速增長的工業生產行業。作為機器人的核心部件，PLC預計將從全球機器人熱潮中受益匪淺。食品、飲料和煙草機械將是2015年至2020年增長速度第二快的行業。在過程制造行業，水處理、制藥和發電行業預計增長最快。