Automated Material Handling (AMH) Equipment Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

AMH Equipment Market Trends & Drivers

Technological Advancements and Mounting Need for Automated Solutions Boost the Market Expansion

The increasing demand for Industry 4.0, IoT, and industrial automation makes the incorporation of automated equipment simpler into systems, which, in turn, offers favorable opportunities for businesses offering automated material handling (AMH) systems. Companies are investing more to build their systems more reliable, fast, and accurate to increase productivity, reduce assembly line time, and maximize operational efficiency. For this, organizations acquire advanced products and technologies for automation including robots, ASRS, cranes, AGV and WMS, and others.

Also, technologies, which are embedded in material handling systems including data analytics and cloud connectivity, improvise asset performance and deliver real-time actionable information. The integration of these systems in various facilities provides remote-controlled operations, which help in delivering better diagnostics and lessen commissioning time. Moreover, the mounting trend of smart factories will further contribute to the market, where advanced equipment is highly employed for the pick-up, sortation, and transit of goods.

Automated Material Handling Equipment Market Analysis

E-Commerce Category To Witness the Highest CAGR

The e-commerce category will register the fastest growth during the forecast period, advancing at a CAGR of around 9%. This can be ascribed to the high demand for automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRSs) in the industry for storing and retrieving products from specific locations, the rising number of e-commerce platforms and online retailers, the growing preference for online shopping, and the improving logistics infrastructure. Additionally, emerging economies such as China and India are playing a vital role in the expansion of the e-commerce sector, owing to the increasing per capita income, which leads to rising consumer spending.

In addition, the healthcare category accounted for a significant revenue contribution to the market in 2022, and the category is expected to grow at a substantial CAGR in the coming years. This is ascribed to the high investment of private companies and governments for the automation of production lines of healthcare products, the rising number of healthcare providers, and the growing population and per capita income, especially in emerging nations such as China and India, which creates opportunities for pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Furthermore, the automotive category will witness significant growth in the coming years. This can be due to the high usage of automated storage and parking systems in which ASRSs are employed, the surging need to scale up automobile production, the increasing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles, the rising need for automation to minimize the product damage while transporting, and the mounting requirement for boosting the speed of material handling at assembly lines in this sector.

In addition, the food & beverages category held a significant revenue share in 2022, and it is also expected to maintain its position during the predicted period. This is due to the burgeoning population across the globe, the rising need for packaged food, the increasing number of frozen food manufacturers, and rapid globalization.

WMS Category Will Register the Fastest Growth

The WMS category will witness the fastest growth during the forecast period, advancing at a CAGR of 9.1%. This can be due to the mounting count of warehouse units, the growing concern of retailers regarding the concept of warehouses, the rising freight costs, the increasing number of e-commerce platforms, the surging clod-based solution offerings by companies, the mounting need for multi-channel distribution networks, and the burgeoning global supply chain networks.

The conveyors & sortation systems category accounted for a significant revenue share in 2022, and it is further expected to maintain its position during the predicted period. This is because such automated conveyors are highly employed in manufacturing units and distribution centers for conveying raw materials and finished goods; and sortation systems are employed for the identification, induction, separation, and transportation of products to specific locations. Moreover, a rise in the count of industrial operations, including manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and distribution, across all industries will create a high demand for conveyors and sortation systems in the automated material handling equipment market.

In addition, the AGV category held a significant revenue share in 2022, and it is also expected to maintain its position in the coming years. This is attributed to the rising industrialization, the mounting need for customized material handling systems, the increasing demand for timely execution of supply chain operations, and the burgeoning requirement for improving productivity and replacing manual labor in testing, as safety is a major concern. Additionally, the usage of automated forklifts and automated tows/tractors is increasing, due to the rising need for stacking and unstacking of goods, precise handling, and intralogistics operations.

Unit Load Material Handling Contributes the Most

The unit load material handling category accounted for a higher revenue contribution in 2022, and it is further expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. This is ascribed to the mounting trend of smart factory and factory automation and the surging requirement to make easier the distribution and storage of products at warehouses. Also, such AMH equipment has several benefits, as it can handle multiple commodities at a time, reducing the trips and time intervals for loading and unloading.

Additionally, in the growing manufacturing industries, including metals & heavy machinery, automotive, and semiconductors & electronics, such systems are primarily employed for ongoing operations to assist prompt delivery and buffer storage in the production processes.

Furthermore, the bulk load material handling category will witness significant growth in the coming years. This can be because bulk load material handling systems are highly used to transit goods from one place to other without manual labor, and in sorting the goods in huge quantities. Moreover, the burgeoning food & beverages and pharmaceutical industries create a high demand for such equipment.

Regional Analysis

Asia-Pacific Is the Market Leader

The APAC market accounted for the largest revenue share, of around 42%, in 2022, and it is further expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. This is ascribed to the rising number of manufacturing sites as well as manufacturing processes and warehouse units, the emerging trend for smart factories, the rising urbanization, the surging material handling practices to improve production capabilities, and the increasing count of local AMH manufacturers in the region.

• Nations such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea generate the majority of revenue share in the regional market. This is due to the rising demand for AMH equipment across industrial verticals, the mounting infrastructure investment by several industries as well as governments, and the increasing foreign investments for setting up warehouses in these countries.

Furthermore, the European market will register significant growth during the predicted period. This can be because of a high acceptance rate of advanced technology, the presence of a large number of key players, the burgeoning manufacturing of industrial robots, the mounting demand for warehouse automation, and the presence of government-supporting policies for automation.

• Germany contributes the largest revenue share to the regional market. This is because the nation has expertise in building heavy machinery and advanced technological industrial systems and the presence of a well-developed automotive sector in the country.

Moreover, North America held a significant market share in 2022, and it is further expected to maintain its position in the coming years. This is ascribed to the presence of a large number of well-developed industries as well as industrial operations, a rise in the requirement for timely and accurate order fulfillment, an increase in the need to reduce industrial operational costs such as product handling and product distribution and freight, and the growth in the retail business, in the region.

• The U.S. contributes the majority of the revenue share to the regional market, and it is expected to maintain its dominance in the coming years as well. This is due to the presence of a large number of industry players, high R&D spending for innovative technology used in material handling, and a rise in the development of smart solutions for last-mile delivery in the country.

Market Breakdown

This report offers deep insights into the AMH equipment industry, with size estimation for 2019 to 2030, the major drivers, restraints, trends and opportunities, and competitor analysis.

Based on Product

• Robots
• ASRS
• Conveyors & Sortation Systems
• Cranes
• WMS
• AGV

Based on System Type

• Unit Load Material Handling
• Bulk Load Material Handling

Based on Vertical

• Automotive
• Metals & Heavy Machinery
• Food & Beverages
• Chemicals
• Healthcare
• 3PL
• Semiconductors & Electronics
• Aviation
• E-Commerce

Geographical Analysis

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany
  • U.K.
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
• Asia-Pacific
  • Japan
  • China
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Australia
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
• Middle East and Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa

Top Automated Material Handling Equipment Companies