North American Machine Vision Sales Decline

North American sales of machine vision systems and components contracted 4.6% comparing year-to-date numbers, to $2.07 billion through September, according to new statistics released by the AIA, the industry’s trade group and part of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).

Machine vision systems saw a decrease of 2% year over year, at $599.9 million. This category includes smart cameras and application specific machine vision (ASMV) systems. The machine vision components market (cameras, lighting, optics, imaging boards, and software) dipped 4% to $92.1 million in the same time. Total machine vision financial transactions fell 2% to $694.1 million.

According to AIA’s survey of industry experts, 53% of respondents believe machine vision component market sales in total will increase, and 38% believe sales will remain flat. There is more consensus in the machine vision systems market, with 70% expecting flat performance, and 24% believing sales will increase in the next six months.

“Despite the overall market performance, vision and imaging technology is a key player in a variety of automation solutions and remains integral to the industry,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation. “Growing global trends like autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and autonomous mobile robots depend on strong vision and imaging systems, bolstering this industry.”

For more information: www.a3automate.org