The global market for Permanent Magnet Motors is expected to decline by -11.6% in the year 2020 and thereafter recover and grow to reach US$42.2 billion by the year 2027, trailing a post COVID-19 CAGR of 7.1%. COVID-19 has evolved from a biological phenomenon into a social and economic crisis. The pandemic is having a considerable impact on world economy and all industries. The asphyxiated economy has set into motion a cascading effect of a marked recession which is being felt by businesses and consumers alike. Global GDP is expected to dip into the red at -3% with the US economy shrinking by a shocking -5.9%. With roots in China, the world's supply chains are facing unprecedented disruption & shutdown. Interwoven with a demand crisis, the supply chain shocks are exerting a compounded blow to manufacturing companies worldwide. The worst affected industry in this pandemic driven crisis is manufacturing with its complex supply chains, labor intensive processes, and interdependencies. Division of labor, modular manufacturing strategies, outsourcing to reduce costs and increase the efficiency, consistency, and quality of each operations, have made the manufacturing sector most vulnerable amid the lockdown restrictions. An indication of the grim state of affairs is the fact that global manufacturing PMI is already declining and will fall to an estimated all-time low of 38.4 points in 2020 as compared to 53.8 in 2019. This indicates severe contraction of manufacturing activity including new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, inventories, customers' inventories, commodity prices, order backlog, new export orders, and imports. Global industrial output is plummeting sharply with the U.S posting steep declines of -16.5% & -15.2% in March & April 2020.

Business investment confidence is tumbling amidst poor demand, falling profits, liquidity crunch and a reeling global economy. The "great lockdown" of 2020 has crushed the global economy and with it the manufacturing sector. The loss in consumer confidence and erosion of household wealth and discretionary spending will impact virtually every industry and business worldwide. Global merchandize trade is expected to plummet by 15% to 30% in the year 2020 highlighting the magnitude of disruption. Against this backdrop, it requires very little speculation to measure the impact on manufacturing. In the United States alone over 80% of manufacturers are bracing for losses. The impact will mean crunch on capital resources; workforce layoffs/reduction and loss in productivity; supply chain disruptions; difficulties with funding; and increase in cybersecurity risks and fraud. Unlike IT services where work is being carried out remotely via internet and cloud platforms, for the manufacturing industry, plant activities and production cannot be carried remotely and therefore remains worst affected. The slower economic activity means reduced demand for industrial and consumer goods and lower manufacturing orders. In the midst of this crisis, demand for advanced materials used in manufacturing is taking a heavy blow as cash strapped companies struggle to cope. With manufacturing industry collapsing like a pack of cards, materials in the value chain are facing the biggest business setback ever. With wide ranging applications from automobiles, air conditioners, computer drives, conveyors, mixers, grinders, pumps, fans to blowers, permanent magnet motors (PMM) is worst affected. New waves of contagion sweeping through different countries, further decline in global trade and muted consumer spending make the return to growth scenario highly uncertain.

In the post COVID-19 period, demand recovery will be led by strong gains for AC type permanent magnet motors. The ideal features of permanent magnet AC motors such as high standard magnetic performance, faster accelerations, robust torque capacity, light weight and capacity to withstand overload electricity without magnetic loss, encourage wider adoption of these motors. Recent advances such as low field excitation losses and associated improvement in performance have made permanent magnet motors more efficient in terms of energy usage. The efficiency is further enhanced by superior power density, simple construction, electric durability and stability, and reliable performance. These factors are expected to drive the adoption of these motors in machinery tools and factory automation applications. Enhanced efficiency coupled with integration of these motors in electric vehicles and automobiles is poised to supplement market growth in future. The market will be bolstered by availability of material handling robots and strong focus on high precision. Permanent magnet motors are also slated to gain from increasing demand for chip conveyors, oil reservoirs, elevators, photocopy machines and coolant pumps across numerous industries. These motors will also witness robust demand from countries holding rare earth material resources. China commands the global rare earth magnet market and is the leading manufacturer of permanent magnet motors. The country scores high over other nations in terms of cost-competitiveness, and is slated to augment the market growth. The global market will also be driven by the increasing transition from induction towards permanent magnet motors to improve device performance and achieve energy savings.