Markets Update: Smart pumps on the rise; Boost expected for oil and gas storage services

Jan. 24, 2018

Market trends and insights from around the process industries

PD pumps market to benefit from IIoT

The North American positive displacement (PD) pumps market will be worth an estimated $2,427.9 million by the end of 2023, according to Frost & Sullivan.

Frost & Sullivan’s Industrial Automation & Process Control team found that smart solutions pave the way for growth opportunities in retrofits and replacements.

While the North American PD market is being disrupted by the convergence of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), tools such as cognitive analytics and next-generation prognostics are paving the way for the rise of smart pumps. This caused a mega shift toward managed service methods, led by wireless intelligence and asset optimization solutions, to support the age of mobile maintenance, dynamic simulations, and remote monitoring services. Manufacturers are expected to collaborate with software vendors to leverage cloud technology for remote monitoring. Within the integrated ecosystem, the need for smart solutions is expected to eventually provide opportunities for upgrades and retrofits of existing pumps and, in some cases, complete replacements.

"The high-performance standards of PD pumps continue to make them the most preferred pump among several industries that are trying to control lifecycle costs of their process equipment. Despite initial costs being higher, lower lifecycle costs are driving industries to install them," said Frost & Sullivan Industrial Automation & Process Control Research Analyst Shilpa Mathur Ramachandran. "Clean-in-place pumps with sensors and remote monitoring network, auto shutoffs, intelligence, and automation built into them will be the most popular in the pumps market."

Growth opportunities exist for providers that focus on developing strategies to:

  • Increase market positioning as quality becomes a major differentiator due to competition from low-cost vendors
  • Cope with the loss of profit margins due to low oil prices and changing market dynamics
  • Use training programs to showcase how their energy-efficient solutions and products will help save money and increase return on investment
  • Leverage their domain expertise in IIoT to provide customized solutions to end users

"In the short term, companies should focus on infrastructure development, while their long-term focus should be on product development that exploits innovative wireless and asset-management technologies," Ramachandran said. 

Oil & gas storage service industry to benefit from increasing capital investment in the US

The global oil and gas storage service market was valued at $8.42 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach $10.38 billion by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6 percent from 2017 to 2024, according to an Esticast Research report. In 2016, the storage segment generated the highest revenue share. Among major regions, the U.S. oil and gas storage service market was the highest revenue-generating market valued at $2.51 billion in 2016, holding more than 25 percent of the global market share.

The oil storage service market is witnessing a considerable rise in the current scenario. Companies use oil storage as a strategic tool to get returns in the global market. They purchase oil at low prices and wait until prices rise before selling. Moreover, a "contango" condition is witnessed in the oil market where it is expected that people will be willing to pay more in the future than at the current price. When this happens, the price difference makes it profitable to purchase and store oil for a given period of time before selling at a higher price. On a national level, governments use storage tanks to increase energy security. In the context of global concern for ‘peak oil’ and decreasing crude oil reserves, storage tanks pose a unique strategic opportunity. Saudi Arabia, U.S., Russia and Japan are some of the prominent countries using the storage services market, primarily driven by the surging oil production and declining oil prices. However, the gas storage services market is expected to lead the market in terms of growth pace, holding a CAGR of 2.8 percent in 2016.

Driven by growth in U.S. natural gas, natural gas liquids, and crude oil, the past two years have witnessed a considerable growth in direct capital investment in terms of oil and gas infrastructure assets. As per the Energy Information Administration, in the U.S., there are around 400 underground storage facilities holding around 110 bcm of gas.

Report provides insight into CPG operational challenges 

Changing consumer demands, such as the push for clean labeling, the rise in the meal kit market, andl as an increase in custom products, is affecting consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies’ production operations, according to the newly released Vision 2025 report from PMMI, PMMI.org The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

As consumer demands increase, CPG manufacturers feel the pressure to meet requirements and look to OEMs to help provide solutions. CPG companies are quick to point out that packaging changes and ranges present constant challenges to machine design and continue to cite the need for flexible, multifunctional equipment enabling efficient changeovers.

The full Vision 2025 report is available for free download.

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