ANN ARBOR – Total machine vision sales in North America rose 3 percent compared to the second quarter of 2011, according to new statistics from AIA, the industry?s trade group.
Total machine vision sales include sales of machine vision systems and components. Sales of machine vision systems, the largest category, rose two percent year-over-year while sales of machine vision components saw an increase of 10 percent.
The increase in sales of machine vision components resulted primarily from sales of cameras, the largest machine vision components market in North America, which rose by 13 percent compared to second quarter 2011. Sales of other machine vision components also rose on a year-over-year basis: Software (24 percent), Imaging Boards (10 percent), Optics (2 percent) and Lighting (1 percent).
?We welcome a return to growth,? said AIA President Jeff Burnstein. ?These encouraging results break the pattern of the previous three quarters, which recorded year-over-year declines.?
Paul Kellett, AIA?s Director of Market Analysis said industry experts do not expect an ongoing improvement.
?Fifty-three percent of the experts surveyed expect flat sales, while 37 percent believe sales will decrease in the next two quarters,? Kellett said. ?Only 10 percent expect an overall improvement in machine vision sales.?
