The global programmable logic controller (PLC) and PLC-based programmable automation controller (PAC) market declined significantly across all regions of the world in 2009, but that is expected to change over the next five years. According to a recent report released by the ARC Advisory Group, there are many dynamics that will drive market growth; automation is one of them.

"Growing demands for energy savings, higher infrastructure productivity, increased production accuracy, better product quality, greater machine agility, tighter process control, and additional safety are some of the crucial factors that will fuel market growth," according to senior analyst Himanshu Shah, the principal author of ARC's Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and PLC-based Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) Worldwide Outlook.
 
New stimulus packages from various governments added more investments in the infrastructure industries, while globalization has also created a large demand for modern infrastructure, especially in emerging economies. According to Shah, emerging economies know that their current infrastructure is a huge bottleneck for their continuing high economic growth, and PLCs and PLC-based PACs will benefit in this environment, as it is a key component for any infrastructure development and operation.

While automation remains one of the best infrastructure investments a company can make, the market dynamics for suppliers also remains very competitive. According to Shah, this leads to issues for the PLC and PLC-based PAC suppliers to address, such as how to create opportunities by learning from long-term trends, which industries and geographical regions to target, and which are the best solutions to offer. The report suggests various strategies for PLC and PLC-based PAC suppliers to increase their overall value propositions to the market.