The impact of the economic turbulence is slowly easing, and countries are attempting to revive the growth of manufacturing and get back into a growth mode. With a new economic order emerging, manufacturers face many challenges, including slackening demand in traditional markets. Uncertain times remain ahead and manufacturing companies and technology solution providers have to restructure their business strategies to meet the “new normal” challenges. One of these challenges is to identify and focus on markets that will emerge stronger after the economic crisis.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, supplier revenues continued to fall compared to the same quarter in 2008, but much less sharply than in Q2 and Q3. The pace of new order activity remained slow, but hefty order backlogs remained at the end of the year. Suppliers to the discrete industries, particularly those in Japan, continue to see large drops in revenue, and dim prospects for recovery. Process automation suppliers fared better, as projects in the energy sector and in developing regions offset sluggish growth in Europe and NA. The automation market likely bottomed out, and may have begun its upswing during the fourth quarter.