Process instrumentation and automation equipment is projected to grow to $13.6 billion in the US by 2018, according to the new market forecast published by the Measurement, Control and Automation Association (MCAA).

The 2014 market forecast was published in May and provides a five-year look at process instrumentation and automation equipment, segmented by major process industries.

According to MCAA, the market size for process instrumentation is also expected to increase by $2.5 billion.

The 80-page report includes details on 12 product categories, 12 industry segments and estimates for both the US and Canada. The report also includes a spotlight on the technology displacement of electronic vs. mechanical flowmeters and a spotlight on market developments in Mexico. The report is prepared annually for MCAA members by the market research firms, Global Automation Research LLC and ReMap Sales Planning LLC.

Market analyst Paul Rasmusson, president of Global Automation Research LLC, reviewed the highlights of the forecast for MCAA members during a webinar. Rasmusson said, among other developments, the chemical industry’s continued investment in unconventional gas as a feedstock and the construction of fertilizer and ethylene plants will make the US an exporter for the first time, instead of a heavy importer.

This year’s report predicts a five-year US compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2 percent, with the oil and gas, chemicals, refining and pharmaceutical industries projected to grow at above-average rates. Water and wastewater, electric utilities, F&B, cement and mining will remain below average because of factors such as price pressure, cyclical downturns or overcapacity, MCAA said.

Products with the best growth rates in the process instrumentation and automation sector include flow, level, control systems and remote I/O. The report predicts tank level gauging will grow at 9 percent per year over the forecast period, primarily because of increased construction of holding tanks at each end of the growing crude oil transport business.

Highlighted in the report is the replacement of mechanical flowmeters with electric versions, a trend that has accelerated during the last 15 years; the electric flowmeter market is expected to be four times the size of the mechanical market by 2018.

For more information on the report, contact MCAA at mcaa@measure.org or 757-258-3100 and visit the website at measure.org.