Strong Growth Ahead for AutomationA new style of report from IMS Research indicates a strong first quarter performance for the industrial automation electronics equipment market in 2010, after a revenue decline of more than 14% in 2009. The second half of 2009 showed substantial quarter- on-quarter growth for automation specialists, thus beginning a gradual recovery for the market.In spite of general negative sentiment among many vendors in this space, IMS predicts strong growth for most automation equipment in 2010 and 2011. "This is the first time we’ve consolidated top-level findings from our entire automation portfolio into a single report," said executive vice president Adrian Lloyd, "It’s quite astounding to see the size of collective revenues accounted for by this market."After several years of rapid expansion accompanied by double-digit growth rates, the motors & motor controls markets were battered by the downturn, but are poised for substantial recovery in 2010, with a return to double-digit growth in key areas. The global automation equipment market was estimated to be worth $40.9 billion in 2009, nearly 55% of the total industrial automation electronics equipment market. Although most product markets will experience positive growth in 2010, project-based equipment markets are anticipated to recover more slowly than the other equipment markets.