"Low-cost manufacturing opportunities in APAC have compelled many companies across industries to shift their manufacturing bases to this region," says Gaurav Mohindru, a lead engineering tools research expert from Technavio. "Rising automotive production in Thailand and initiatives like Make in India have made APAC the focal point of global manufacturing. Therefore, Technavio expects this region to dominate the global market in manufacturing, and in turn, the machining centers market."
In 2015, with a market share of over 40 percent, APAC dominated the global machining centers market, followed by EMEA with over 32 percent and the Americas with approximately 28 percent.
APAC
The increasing investments in the major end-user industries such as automotive are fueling the demand for machining centers in the region.
The next major automotive market is India. Automobile sales in the country were 23.9 million units until April 2016 compared with 23.3 million units during the same period in 2014. This includes commercial vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers, and passenger vehicles. The growing automobile market in India is one of the major reasons for the increasing investment by industry majors.
The aviation sector in China is controlled by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) — a major supplier of military planes and helicopters to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. This organization is posing tough competition for global giants like Boeing and Airbus. The Chinese aerospace and defense sector is becoming a global military and defense competitor and is expected to be one of the major players in the next 25 years.
EMEA
Countries like the UK, Italy and Germany are major consumers of machining centers in the European market. This is mainly because of the presence of multinational automotive and aerospace companies in this region. The sales of automobiles improved considerably in the European Union since the financial crisis of 2008. Automobile sales showed a 9.3 percent growth in 2015 compared with that of 2014.
In the Middle East and Africa, the automotive market is expected to show remarkable growth during the forecast period. This region is considered as relatively un-motorized by major automakers. The main countries that are expected to contribute to the growth of the automotive sector in this region are Egypt, Iran, South Africa and Nigeria. During the forecast period, automobile sales in the MEA region are expected to reach 3 million units annually, leading to 50 percent production capacity in the sector.
Aerospace is another major sector that uses machining centers in EMEA. Boeing and Airbus are expected to increase their production capacity to meet global demand. The commercial and residential construction sector in Europe is expected to revive in 2016 and is likely to drive the market for the metal fabrication sector where machining centers are also deployed. In the EU, the construction sector in 19 countries is expected to enjoy a positive outlook and show significant growth.
THE AMERICAS
Being the most industrialized country in North America, the U.S. holds the largest market for machining centers. This is attributed to the growing automobile, aerospace and metal fabrication industries in the country.
Traditionally, the US has always been a leader in the automotive sector in terms of technology and innovations. The country's automobile sector enjoys high demand mainly because of the huge consumer base with high disposable incomes. The high demand for automobiles, in turn, drives the equipment manufacturer market and attracts huge investments in this sector.
