Significant reductions in machine vision hardware market forecasts

The downturn in economic and industrial activity will have a significant effect on sales of machine vision hardware, according to IMS Research. As a result, market forecasts published in May 2008 have been revised to reflect the current market conditions. “Such significant changes in market conditions cannot be ignored” commented John Morse, author of IMS Research’s latest Machine Vision Hardware Market report. “The industry”, Morse continued, “needs a current and realistic view of market prospects. No one foresaw the scale of the current downturn in manufacturing which has prompted us to review our forecasts. We are continually monitoring this market while economic conditions are so uncertain”. In the fourth quarter of 2008, machine-vision companies saw, on average, their sales fall by 15% from the fourth quarter of 2007. Some have seen up to a 50% decline in sales revenues in the first two months of 2009, although there are great variations depending on the industries they serve. As a result IMS Research has reduced the worldwide forecast for machine vision hardware (2008 – 2009) from growth of 7.0% to a revenue reduction of 13.4%.