2020 will go down in history as a difficult year for most industries. The industry of linear actuators has suffered some of the effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been much interest in integrating electric linear actuators into different production lines. Other industries like oil and gas started to demand this type of actuator too. You can read some technical characteristics of these devices here.
As a result of the pandemic, the supply chain of many manufacturing industries suffered serious disruptions. This decreased productivity significantly. Therefore, the demand for linear actuator relented. The industry that manufactures linear actuators has seen its operations decrease as well. But this does not mean that the market has stagnated. Linear actuators are widely used in all the industries. Thus, the market of linear actuators has an immense potential to grow rapidly in the future.
Main Market Drivers
Electric actuators account for 25% of the market’s total revenue. And this proportion is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. As of 2020, the market is dominated by China, which has 46.79% of global consumption. In general terms, Asia is the major consumer of linear actuators. However, the United States is also a key market participant. Some of leading manufacturers have their head offices there. In North America, Mexico’s rate of growth is expected to be the largest.
The main drivers of the market have been:
- Automation in several industries in the manufacturing, extractive, and transformative sectors. Particularly, the automotive industry is a major user of these actuators. The oil and gas industry is the main extractive industry that demands linear actuators.
- Novel wastewater treatment plants. They require linear actuators for the opening and closing of valves.
- Other industries such as defense and aerospace.
Unfortunately, the demand for actuators has experienced a slowdown this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the operations of the manufacturing industry. The extent of this negative effect has not been assessed thoroughly yet. Likewise, mining, another key industry for the linear actuator market, has declined this year. In this case, the reason is not only the pandemic, but also lower demand and less investment.
The Linear Actuator Market Will Recover
Even though the perspectives look bleak for the linear actuator market, some projections are much more optimistic. Currently, the market has a value of $8.1 billion in 2020. This is expected to reach $10.7 billion by the end of 2026. This means that a CAGR of 4.0% will be observed during the next five years.
An activity that has not shown a significant slowdown in this field is R&D. Innovation is the key to open new markets. This is why, during the previous years, there has been much interest in innovation. This interest has continued active this year, and R&D funds continue to be allocated by major companies. Hence, 2020 offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs.
The large industry of linear actuators comprises companies of all sizes, from multinational corporations to small local manufacturers. Hence, there is a big opportunity to grow through innovative products.
