Automated Material Handling Equipment and Systems: The North American Market

Report Highlights

The North American market for automated material handling was valued at nearly $4.5 billion in 2013 and $4.8 billion in 2014. The total market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% from 2014 through 2019 and reach $7.1 billion by 2019.

Report Includes

• An overview of the North American market for automated material handling equipment and systems for a variety of commercial applications.
• Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2013 and 2014, and projections CAGRs through 2019.
• Coverage of applications including 3PL (third party logistics), automotive, mail order, food and beverage, wholesale distribution, medical and pharmaceutical, parcel post, printing and publishing, bulk material handling and mining, airport baggage handling as well as other applications.
• Information about various automated material handling products currently on the North American market, new products and technologies, key manufacturers by product type, and industry direction.
• Analysis of the market’s dynamics including drivers, restraints, and opportunities.
• Analysis of governmental regulations as well as environmental programs and incentives.
• Comprehensive profiles of major players in the industry.

Report Scope

The following are brief summaries of the chapters included in this report.

The Chapter One presents the report’s scope, methodology and structure, as well as brief overviews of each of the report’s chapters.

Chapter Two provides an executive summary of the information presented in this report

Chapter Three provides a high-level overview of the automated material handling industry, including historical, current and future industry perspectives, as well as a look at current and anticipated manufacturing issues and trends. Chapter Three also includes an overview of industry trade organizations, such as the Material Handling Institute (MHI), the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA) and the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA). The chapter also discusses the key trade shows that automated material handling equipment manufacturers and other industry participants attend, such as one of the industry’s largest events, MODEX, sponsored by the MHI, and market-specific trade shows such as inter airport Europe. The chapter also details the primary trade media that cover the industry, including Material Handling & Logistics (MH&L) and Inbound Logistics (IL).

Product technology in the automated material handling industry is in a constant state of evolution and at different stages of innovation in an effort to meet changing market needs and demands. This is especially true regarding robotic technology.

Chapter Four provides a detailed look at eight different residential flooring categories—AGVs, conveyors, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), sortation, palletizing, pick systems (also known as order picking) and associated automated material handling software systems, including warehouse management software and transportation management software—along with associated new products and technologies, as well as applicable government and safety regulations and requirements affecting each technology type.

Chapter Five provides a comprehensive overview of the automated material handling market size and growth in North America through 2019. Combined North American automated material handling expenditures as well as expenditures by country are provided here, setting the stage for more detailed breakdowns by product category, which also compare expenditures by country for 2013, 2014 and 2019. Also included are 2014 to 2019 compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) for each country by product category: product type—AGVs, conveyors, AS/RS, sortation, palletizing, pick systems as well as warehouse management systems (WMS) and transportation management systems (TMS).

For the purposes of this report, BCC Research has analyzed the following primary regions—the U.S. and Canada—to complete its North American automated material handling market research.

For the market definition part of this report in Chapter Six, BCC Research analyzed 10 distinct end-use markets in North America:

• Third-party logistics (3PL)
• Automotive.
• Mail order.
• Food and beverage.
• Wholesale.
• Medical and pharmaceutical
• Parcel post.
• Print/publishing.
• Bulk/mining.
• Airport baggage handling.

The automated material handling analysis contains expenditure and share data for 2013 and 2014 as well as projections for the year 2019, along with the CAGRs for the years 2013 to 2019.

Along with Canada, additional detailed analysis is provided for end-use markets pertaining to the following U.S. regions: the Midwest, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest and West. Data is included for 2013 and 2014 as well as projections for the year 2019, along with CAGRs for the years 2014 to 2019, both by country by end-use market and by end-use market by country.

In addition, this chapter includes a snapshot of 19 of the leading automated material handling equipment and systems manufacturers with data on 2012 and 2013 revenues as well as charts showing which products they manufacture as well as their primary end-use markets as defined in this report.

Chapter Seven provides a cross section of profiles on 30 of the major producers in the eight automated material handling industry product categories: AGVs, conveyors, AS/RS, sortation, palletizing, pick systems as well as WMS and TMS. The major producers of automated material handling equipment and systems are a mix of those that concentrate in only one technology area (such as pick systems) to large multinational companies that offer multiple product lines.

Chapter Seven contains the following information about each company profiled:

• Company background.
• Recent company news (as available, selected significant and report-relevant corporate business and/or new product announcements within the past 12 months).
• Product line overview.
• Financial performance (as recent as possible due to fiscal calendars).
• Overview of strategic direction that the company is taking in the coming months and years.

Analyst Credentials

The author has completed numerous general industry reports and proprietary studies on North American and international markets.