These are the results of HMS's annual study on the market share of industrial networks. As an independent provider of solutions for industrial communication and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), HMS relies on an in-depth insight into the industrial networking market. The study reflects HMS' assessment of the market shares of fieldbuses, industrial Ethernet and wireless networks. The general market situation worldwide is more than exceptional due to the coronavirus, so HMS has refrained from specifying growth rates this time.

Industrial Ethernet on the rise

HMS concludes that Industrial Ethernet continues to gain market share from fieldbuses and has now achieved a global market share of 64% of newly installed nodes in factory automation (59% in the previous year). EtherNet/IP and Profinet share first place with 17 percent of the total market each. EtherCAT is also widely used worldwide with 7 percent. With a market share of 5 percent, Modbus TCP has overtaken Ethernet Powerlink, which has a market share of 4 percent.

Fieldbuses continue to decline

HMS expects fieldbuses to decline to 30 percent of newly installed nodes (previous year: 35 percent). Profibus is still the number one fieldbus with a market share of 8 percent, but has fallen below the 10 percent mark of the overall market for industrial networks for the first time. It is followed by Modbus-RTU with 5 percent and CC-Link with 4 percent market share.

Estimates of the market shares of Industrial Ethernet and fieldbuses

Thilo Döring, HMS: "We expect demand for wirelessly networkable devices and machines to increase."

© HMS

"We expect steady growth in the industrial networks market in the coming years. However, due to the coronavirus situation, which is having a massive impact on business conditions worldwide, we are unable to make any statements about growth rates this year. Our analysis this year therefore only includes market shares," explains Thilo Döring, Managing Director of HMS Industrial Networks GmbH in Karlsruhe. "If we only look at the market shares, we can see that it is the Industrial Ethernet networks that are continuing to drive networking within factories. The leaders are EtherNet/IP and Profinet, followed by EtherCAT. Profibus is still the most widespread fieldbus, but has lost market share because fieldbuses are declining overall. It is also interesting to note that Modbus continues to have a high market share - both for fieldbuses with Modbus RTU and for Ethernet-based Modbus TCP. This shows us that well-known technologies are still being used for new installations in factories if they have proven themselves."

Stable wireless networks with good future prospects

Wireless technologies have maintained their market share of 6 percent. WLAN is still the most widespread, followed by Bluetooth. "Wireless networks have maintained their market share in an overall growing market, which is not a bad thing. However, we assume that the share of wireless technologies will continue to grow in the long term," says Thilo Döring. "Activities around wireless technologies are underway worldwide - keyword private LTE/5G networks. They make smart manufacturing possible in the first place. We therefore expect demand for wirelessly networkable devices and machines to increase. After all, they are a central component of flexible automation architectures of the future."

Regional differences

In Europe and the Middle East, networks are distributed more or less equally. The leaders in these regions are EtherNet/IP and Profinet. They are followed by Profibus and EtherCAT. Modbus (RTU/TCP) and Ethernet Powerlink are also popular in Europe and the Middle East. The situation is quite different in the US market, which is dominated by EtherNet/IP. Only EtherCAT has made up some ground on the American market. The picture is completely different in the Asian market. None of the industrial networks has really established itself there, and the network landscape is very heterogeneous. However, the two networks Profinet and EtherNet/IP are also the most widespread in Asia. However, Profibus, EtherCAT, Modbus (RTU/TCP) and CC-Link/CC-Link IE Field are also quite common in Asia.