According to Jason Dong, GM of ARC Advisory Group China, “China’s economy was the first in the world to recover and will continue its robust growth at sustainable levels for years to come.”  He continues, “Given the favorable business environment for the automation market, it is clear that the prospects for PLC and PLC-based PACs are beginning to brighten.  We expect the shipments to recover much of its decline in 2008 by the end of 2010.” 
 
Because PLCs are the automation system of choice in many industrial verticals, China’s economic expansion is spurring above average PLC growth in the process, hybrid, and discrete manufacturing segments.  According to the principal author of ARC’s study, Lorry Zhong (lzhong@arcweb.com), “The PLC market will grow at a rate slightly above the GDP growth year-over-year during the forecast period of the study.  This growth is driven by the huge government stimulus, domestic demand, increasing global needs, and buoyant FDI.  Suppliers should closely watch the results of China’s stimulus programs, however, and respond appropriately if they overheat the economy.”