So says Electrical Apparatus:
Demand for electric motors remained stable for a second straight quarter during the first quarter of 2012 as the National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s Motors Shipments Index increased 0.8% from the previous quarter. This follows on the heels of a 4.1% gain posted in the fourth quarter of last year.
Since bottoming out in the second quarter of 2009, during the depths of the economic recession, the index has climbed a cumulative 47% and has topped its pre-recession high for four straight quarters. Growth in the fractional horsepower segment of the electric motors market dipped below that of the integral horsepower segment in the second half of 2011, but rebounded in the first quarter of 2012.
The inflation adjusted dollar value of fractional horsepower motors shipments increased by more than half between the second quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2012, while the value of integral horsepower motors shipments increased by almost a quarter over the same period.
