01 The overall market depends on the project market

OEM growth in individual industries

XP-503-15-A10-A00-1B Industrial automation market according to the downstream industry can be divided into project market and OEM market, project market representative industries include metallurgy, chemical, petrochemical, power, paper, etc. OEM market representative downstream industries include lithium battery, silicon crystal, textile chemical fiber, printing and packaging, logistics equipment, etc. In the first quarter of 2024, the OEM market decreased by 7% year on year, while the project market increased by 2%.

In terms of sub-industries, the OEM market only achieved positive growth in eight industries, such as textile, packaging, industrial robots, and HVAC, while the project-based market only saw a decline in petrochemical and electric power, down 20% and 4% respectively.

The growth of the project market in the first quarter of 2024 was mainly driven by infrastructure-related industries, while the decline of the OEM market was mainly due to the significant decline in China’s domestic economy and the significant decline in multi-industry demand. At the international level, the global economic downturn and the continued slowdown in external demand growth have also had a greater impact on the growth of China’s foreign trade.

02 Lithium, photovoltaic overcapacity, slowing growth

The 3C electronics market shows signs of recovery

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In 2023, the photovoltaic giants led by Jinkosolar and Longi Green Energy have greatly expanded in the major links of the photovoltaic industry chain, resulting in a number of core links with overcapacity. Since March 2024, the prices of silicon materials, silicon wafers and batteries in the upstream of the photovoltaic industry chain have declined again. The situation of the battery downstream industry is basically the same, in the first quarter of 2024, both are in a state of decline.

XP-503-15-A10-A00-1B MIR DATABANK further verified this trend when monitoring data in the first quarter of 2024. According to the downstream data statistics of the main product lines such as servo, inverter, PLC, HMI, it was found that the battery and photovoltaic decreased compared with the same period last year; The electronic manufacturing industry, which has been silent for a long time, is on the rise.

This growth change in electronics manufacturing is mainly due to the global competition in smart phone stock, the focus of mobile phone hardware innovation is shifting from optical camera to foldable screen, the increase in foldable screen phone orders in the first quarter of 2024 has become the main driving force, as well as the production order of Apple Vision Pro has also played a certain pulling role.

In addition to technological updates, 3C electronics is ushering in a new product cycle, including mobile phones, tablets and a series of products are undergoing a new round of upgrading. Global smartphone shipments are expected to rebound in 2024 as easing inflation drives demand recovery in emerging markets and artificial intelligence attracts end-users to buy high-end devices, with the global mobile phone and PC markets re-entering positive growth territory and the resulting industry investment growing. Among them, emerging markets such as India, the Middle East and Africa will be the main growth drivers of the smartphone market. According to public information, the iPhone has maintained stable demand globally, while Huawei continues to maintain its strong position in the Chinese market, especially with the release of its 5G Kirin chipset. It is understood that Huawei’s strong competitiveness led to a decline in iPhone sales in China in the first quarter of 2024.