Medium Voltage Motor Drives Market grows rapidly

Record high energy prices combined with product replacement and emerging medium voltage applications have contributed to increasing the market by nearly 34% over 2006 levels, to exceed $1.5 billion. It is forecast to continue growing by an average of 21% per year in terms of revenues to surpass $4 billion by 2012. The Chinese medium voltage motor drives market, which benefitted from various energy savings initiatives undertaken by the Chinese government in recent years and the continued expansion of Chinese industry, was reported to be the fastest growing. The Chinese market is expected to surpass the Western European market to become the largest in the world by 2012. The markets in Central & Eastern Europe, Russia, and India are also expected to grow rapidly as a result of ongoing infrastructure expansion in these regions. The US medium voltage drives market is expected to grow at a slower pace over the forecast period as the slowdown in the US economy leads to reduced capital spending, lowering the demand for costly medium voltage drives. The metals, oil & natural gas, and power generation industry sectors continued to lead the market in medium voltage motor drive utilization. In addition, rapidly growing segments such as the mining and marine sectors provide opportunity for further growth. According to IMS Research analyst Alex Chausovsky, “rapidly increasing energy costs, coupled with record profits at oil & natural gas and mining companies driven by skyrocketing commodity prices, will continue to provide ample opportunities for medium voltage drive suppliers.”