Use of Ethernet-based technologies in industrial communications will grow faster than use of fieldbus, especially in the Asia-Pacific region; according to IMS Research. This is largely driven by the need to improve efficiency as currency and wage pressures sound warning bells, threatening the cost advantage that has fueled the meteoric growth of manufacturing in the region. The company says that  worldwide growth in the installation of new Ethernet based nodes was forecast to be 13% CAGR from 2010 to 2015; regional growth rates were 11% in EMEA, 10.4% in the Americas, 18.6% in Asia Pacific.

John Morse, company representative, said “...the rate of growth seems to be gathering pace in the recovery from the 2008/9 recession. The Asia-Pacific growth rate is high despite the pressure on local manufacturing costs from increasing wages in the growing economies of Asia, most notably China. In addition, the demand for products from both America and Europe is currently slowing, adding an additional threat to the economies of scale needed to maintain profitability.”

Morse added “The market in Japan is somewhat different and has been much slower to adopt Ethernet-based communication technologies in industry. Even there, this is changing with the introduction of CC-Link IE, a Gigabit technology form Mitsubishi Electric; and with extensive promotion by other organizations including ODVA and Profibus International promoting Ethernet/IP and PROFINET respectively”.