Years of slow economic growth and the crash in oil prices in late 2014 took a toll on the market for industrial uninterruptible power supply (UPS) applications in recent years, according to IHS Markit. Canceled or delayed projects became the new normal in heavy industrial applications, while government-supported light-industrial projects failed to offset those declines. However, robust economic tailwinds and stabilizing oil prices drove the market to return to growth in 2017, with accelerating growth pushing the 2018 industrial UPS market to $1.8 billion.

Despite more favorable market conditions, industrial UPS users are still operating with a cautious outlook that is affecting buying behavior. Cost management is top of mind, leading to smaller projects, delaying purchasing decisions as late as possible in the project cycle and utilizing more standardized products.

“Standardized industrial UPS products focused on rack-based modularity, shorter delivery times, remote connectivity and lower costs are quickly becoming what industrial UPS end users are looking for,” said Lucas Beran, senior analyst, IHS Markit.

Yet, the impact of digitization, increasing automation and the growth in the industrial internet of things remain tremendous long-term growth drivers for industrial UPS applications. The market for industrial UPS applications has a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5%, from 2017 to 2022.

More Industrial UPS Market Highlights

  • Heavy industrial UPS applications revenue grew 1.4% in 2017, with a five-year CAGR 2.9%, from 2017 to 2022
  • Light industrial UPS applications revenue grew 5.7% in 2017, with a five-year CAGR of 3.9%
  • Asia was the fastest growing region for industrial UPS applications, at a rate of 7.7%, followed by Western Europe at 3.5%
  • Schneider Electric, Vertiv, and Kehua Tech are the top three market leaders, accounting for 33% of industry revenues
  • Industrial UPS applications account for approximately one-fifth of the total UPS market, but they are forecast to lose share to IT and data center applications over the forecast period through 2022