PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND – Of a global industrial and medical electronics market valued at around $525 billion in 2007, US OEMS accounted for half the total, says Semicast.
 
Of those OEMs supplying electronic products to the industrial and medical sector in 2007, the top three suppliers – Caterpillar, Deere & Co and United Technologies – are all US-owned companies, with Applied Materials, GE and Medtronic also appearing in the top 10.
 
With six of the 10 largest OEMs supplying industrial and medical electronics, US dominance looks unlikely to weaken any time soon, says Semicast.
 
While many often think of Europe and Japan as powerhouses in the industrial and medical electronics sector, European and Japanese OEMs account for less than 30% and 20% of the total market respectively. Siemens is ranked as the largest European OEM in the analysis, while Komatsu emerges as the leading Japanese supplier, according to the firm.
 
Korean manufacturers take fourth place, led by suppliers such as Hyundai and Doosan Infracore. However, with a share of less than 2% of the global market, it will take a seismic shift for the Koreans to take on the established order.
 
As a country that has dominated headlines for much of the last decade, the impact so far of Chinese OEMs on the world industrial and medical electronics market has been somewhat limited, with companies like Goldwind and Sinovel still having relatively low brand recognition, says Semicast. However, Chinese OEMs have gained a foothold in some specific markets; for example, Hangcha and Hangzhou Forklift are both becoming established as suppliers of forklift trucks and materials handling, while Holley and Londian Electrics continue to develop a presence in electronic utility metering.