The increase in capital investment projects in the petrochemical, chemical and fertiliser, power, and water sectors is fuelling the growth of the Middle East electrical drives market.
Market participants should particularly target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), where more than $367 Billion is expected to be spent on infrastructure and Qatar, where there will also be large infrastructural investments for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2022 World Cup.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Analysis of the Middle East Electrical Drives Market, finds that the market earned revenues of $83.7 Million in 2013 and estimates this to reach $155 Million in 2017. The study covers alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) electrical drives. AC electrical drives are the preferred technology in the Middle East as they are more efficient, incur lower maintenance costs, and offer better functionalities than DC electrical drives.
“The increased emphasis on energy efficiency to reduce operational costs is boosting the sale volumes of electrical drives in the Middle East,” said Frost & Sullivan Industrial Automation & Process Control Research Analyst. “The need to replace the large installed base of electrical motors that have been operational for the last 20 to 30 years with new motors that use variable frequency drives is also driving market revenues in the region.”
However, the reduced export demand for crude oil due to the rise in the production of American shale oil and gas, the Eurozone crisis, and the weak global economy has lowered the national incomes of the Middle Eastern countries. The International Energy Agency predicts that demand will continue to decline by 400,000 barrels of oil per day in 2014. While the Middle East is combating the drop in export levels and achieving its targeted economic growth rate of more than 5 per cent by increasing oil prices by nearly 30 per cent, investment plans across industries are likely to be cautious, subduing the expansion rate of the electrical drives market.
In addition, the ability of manufacturers from countries with cheap labour and raw materials to offer Middle East customers electrical drives at significantly lower prices than their American and European counterparts is intensifying competition in the market. This dents the prospects of electrical drive manufacturers from other locations, who have to bear the high cost of raw materials and labour as they are unable to pass it on to customers with defined price expectations.
“Electrical drive suppliers are focusing on the medium voltage electrical drive segment as there is less competition in this space than the low voltage electrical drive segment,” noted the Analyst. “They are also strengthening their local presence and building a robust distribution network to optimise profit margins and beat back competition in the Middle East electrical drives market.”
