US OEMS Dominate 2007 Industrial and Medical Electronics Vendor Ranking

Montreal, Canada, September 17, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Electronics.ca Publications, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled "Industrial, Medical Electronics and Semiconductor Report Service".

With all eyes on China for the 2008 Olympic Games and great interest generally in the rapidly developing Asian economies, one finding of note from a recent study available at Electronics.ca Publications highlights just how central the United States remains as a player in the global industrial and medical electronics market.

Analysis of findings from the report "Industrial/Medical Electronics Service" shows that of a world market valued at around $525 billion in 2007, US OEMs accounted for half of the total, highlighting a major success story for North America and one which is perhaps generally overlooked.

Of those OEMs supplying electronic products to the industrial and medical sector in 2007, the top three suppliers, Caterpillar, Deere & Co and United Technologies are all US-owned companies, with Applied Materials, GE and Medtronic also featuring in the top ten. That's six of the ten largest OEMs supplying industrial and medical electronics showing as US companies, and with each one a global leader in their respective fields, this dominance looks unlikely to weaken any time soon.

While many often think of Europe and Japan as powerhouses in the industrial and medical electronics sector, European and Japanese OEMs account for under 30% and 20% of the total market respectively. Siemens is unsurprisingly ranked as the largest European OEM in the analysis, while Komatsu emerges as the leading Japanese supplier.

Following US, European and Japanese OEMs, Korean manufacturers come together to take fourth place, led by suppliers such as Hyundai and Doosan Infracore. However with a share of under 2% of the global market, it will take a lot of work, or a seismic shift, for the Koreans to take on the established order.

This brings the spotlight back to China. As a country that has dominated headlines for much of the last decade, the impact so far of Chinese OEMs on the world industrial and medical electronics market has been somewhat limited, with companies like Goldwind and Sinovel still having relatively low brand recognition. However Chinese OEMs have gained a foothold into some specific markets, for example Hangcha and Hangzhou Forklift are both becoming established as suppliers of forklift trucks and materials handling, while Holley and Londian Electrics continue to develop a presence in electronic utility metering.

Overall, Chinese OEMs are estimated to have supplied under 1% of the world industrial and medical electronics market in 2007, reinforcing the conclusion that they have a long way to go before emerging as a major force on the world stage.

However Colin Barnden, the principal analyst and author of the study urged a word of caution, adding "One need only consider the dramatic impact that Huawei Technologies has had on the telecommunications market to realize that it would be a mistake to underestimate the Chinese over the long term."

While China finished top of the Olympic medals table, Team USA currently stands proud as leader in the industrial and medical electronics market. Holding such a commanding lead, that position looks unlikely to be challenged before the Olympics reconvene in London in 2012.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications' web site. View the report: http://www.electronics.ca/reports/semiconductor_applications/industrial_medical.html

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