Industrial Computers

Rugged industrial computers represented a market in the North American and Western European market of $1.7 billion in 2003, of which industrial automation control and instrumentation was $484 million and Energy, Utilities, & Transportation Infrastructure was $91 million, according to James Taylor of Venture Development Corporation.

In the VDC report North American and Western European Market Demand for Ruggedized Industrial Computer Systems, Feb 2004 the compound annual growth rate is forecast a3.5% for industrial automation control and instrumentation.

North American and Western European Market Demand for Ruggedized Industrial Computer Systems

This lower growth is a function of price decreases and unit demand increases. The present unit value is around $4,000 in the industrial automation segment.

For approximate calculation purposes, we recommend inserting a revenue of $288 million (484 plus 91)/2 to arrive at the 2003 industrial computer number or for the U.S. number.

$288 million for the U.S. in 2003 can be further segmented by the ratio of total automation numbers displayed above. These specific industry revenues can then be used to forecast industrial computer sales in any country in future years. Unit values can be calculated starting with a divisor of $4,000 in 2003 and reducing this number by 3%/yr in subsequent years.