© Destatis, ZVEI

After a very good year in 2017, the automation sector continued to grow significantly in the first half of 2018. From the second half of last year, the figures for the specialist areas developed very differently - although the downward trend affected all of them in the fourth quarter. While switchgear, switch systems, industrial control systems and process measurement and sensor technology continued to grow overall in 2018, electrical drive technology remained at the previous year's level.