At 34.5 billion euros, the turnover reported by the automation sector in Germany in the first nine months was 11% down on the same period of the previous year. There is no question that the current economic situation in automation remains difficult. However, Roland Bent, member of the Executive Board of the ZVEI Automation Association and CTO of Phoenix Contact, emphasizes that price-adjusted production had already turned negative compared to the previous year's figures by the end of 2018. However, structural and economic issues in Germany were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. On a positive note, however, Germany bottomed out in May. Roland Bent: "Even though the current economic situation is difficult to assess and uncertainty remains high due to the pandemic, we expect a significant recovery next year."

Europe strongest export region

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, exports fell by 11.4% to €30.8 billion between January and September 2020. While almost all customer countries saw a double-digit decline, exports to China grew by 5.2% in the first nine months.

Nevertheless, Europe remains the strongest customer region. German automation companies export around 45% of their goods to countries in the European Union, with a further 9% going to other European countries.

In terms of percentage share of the global market, five trading countries stand out for automation: the USA with 13 %, Germany with 4 %, China with 43 %, Japan with 4 % and South Korea with 5 %. Overall, the global market has a volume of 558 billion euros and has grown by an average of 4.6% annually since 2000. "For 2020, we expect a decline of minus 3% in the forecast. However, economists expect a recovery and a continuation of growth as early as 2021. In the past, China has grown by almost 15% annually, which means that the Chinese market is now approaching 50% of the global market, even as a result of the pandemic," says Bent.

Germany's situation in the trade dispute between the USA and China

Germany exports almost twice as many automation products as it imports. 15 % to 8 %, putting it between the USA and China. Around 15% of exported automation products go to America, 38% of exports go to Asia. " This means that a system decision in favor of the West versus China or in favor of China versus the USA would be fatal for automation," says Bent, assessing the situation should there be further tensions in the trade dispute between China and the USA. Bent continues: "We can see that we are in a difficult economic situation. In addition to the corona crisis, there are also external economic reasons for this: The still unresolved trade conflict between China and the US, also Europe's ongoing uncertainties with the US, the approaching Brexit. This mixture of cycle and external economic tensions cannot remain without consequences."

Digitalization and sustainability of paramount importance for automation specialists

The fact that automation technology has come through the coronavirus crisis so well so far is also due to its adaptability. It has become clear that digitalization also plays a decisive role here: "We can see that our competitiveness and value creation depend fundamentally on how digitally fit we are. The companies that have already invested in digitalization will come through the crisis best," says Bent.

The industry is also benefiting from long-term development trends such as sustainability and digitalization, as automation is very important here. "We would now like to take a look at two topics that enjoy the highest priority in automation: Digitalization and sustainability," says the CEO of the ZVEI Automation Association. He emphasizes that automation is playing to its strengths during the corona crisis and has made an important contribution to the continuation of production. "It has been shown that a high degree of automation through control systems, sensors and actuators helps to maintain production while complying with coronavirus safety regulations."

Automation technology also makes an important contribution to climate protection. This is also shown by the example of_{a CO2-neutral} factory using DC grids: 70% of the electricity consumed in industry is used by electric motors, making them the largest consumer of electrical energy. "A DC-based smart grid in industrial production is significantly more energy-efficient than an AC-based energy supply," says Gunther Koschnick, Managing Director of the Automation Association. "We were able to prove in model systems that energy consumption can be reduced by up to ten percent on average." There are also material savings.

Industry 4.0 with 5G

One year after the award conditions for local industrial and agricultural mobile networks, so-called 5G campus networks, came into force, the Federal Network Agency has already received almost 90 applications. "The high demand is very pleasing. In conjunction with Industry 4.0 applications, campus networks are essential for Germany as an industrial location and a prerequisite for maintaining a strong position in international competition," explains Koschnick.

Read more in the article "Industrial 5G campus networks - demand is rising".