Page 30 - trends in automation

The engine that drives the global economy

To illustrate the importance of the country to the global

economy, we need to take a closer look at the economic

data and structures. In 2011, the USA accounted for

around 19 per cent of global GDP, adjusted for purchasing

power. To put this in perspective, China’s GDP is only

half that of the USA, at around 7 trillion US dollars.

Relative to the population, the estimated per capita GDP

in the USA is around 48,000 US dollars. The strongest

driver of the US economy continues to be the services

sector. In 2010, 1.6 per cent of the labour force in the

USA worked in agriculture, 16.7 per cent in industry and

81.2 per cent in the services sector. In the same year,

the USA was the world’s second-biggest exporter, export-

ing goods to the value of around 1.3 trillion US dollars.

Mechanical engineering sector growing again

Despite some dramatic losses as a result of the financial

crisis, the import/export engine of the USA is giving cause

for optimism, particularly in the mechanical engineering

and tool manufacture sectors. In 2012, sales of German

mechanical engineering products in the USA grew by

more than 20 per cent. According to Germany Trade &

Invest, US industry is increasingly relying on high-tech

machines to further stimulate production. This in turn

creates greater demand in the aerospace and auto

motive industries. The Association for Manufacturing

Technology (AMT) puts the value of all orders at 5.7

billion US dollars, the highest order value since 1996.

Production activity is also increasing in the metalwork-

ing industry. Between January and February 2013, it

grew by 1.6 percentage points to 86.2 per cent. Analysts

are forecasting growth of up to 3 per cent in industrial

production for the entire year. The Manufacturers

Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) is pre-

dicting an increase of around 10 per cent in investment

in industrial equipment for the same period. Germany

Trade & Invest has reported strong interest in powerful

and flexible multitasking machine tools.

Shaped by small or medium-sized enterprises (SME)

The US mechanical engineering and plant construction

sectors are shaped by global companies such as

Caterpillar, John Deere and General Electric and more

than 25,000 SMEs. Together they are set to achieve total

estimated sales of 350 billion US dollars for the year.

The main focus of the US mechanical engineering sector

lies in the production areas of construction, agricultural,

horticultural and metalworking machinery, heating,

ventilation and air conditioning, systems for power

transmission and generation, industrial production lines,

conveyor technology, engines as well as pumps and com-

pressors. The market for pneumatic automation systems

is estimated to be worth around 2.3 billion US dollars.

The USA in figures

Area: 9.83 million km²

Population (2013): 316.8 million

Population density (2013): 32.3 inhabitants/km²

Population growth (2012): 0.9%

Economic growth by sector (2012)

Industry: 6.2%

Wholesale trade: 4.8%

Finance and insurance: 3.6%

Growth in industrial production by sector (2012)

Motor vehicles and parts: 11.7%

Primary metals: 8.8%

Metal products: 6.3%

Machinery: 8.4%

Automotive products: 7.4%

Computers and electronic products: 7.2%

(Source: Germany Trade & Invest)