APAC Automation Deals to Rise 2% in 2026, Driving PLC Market Growth

The industrial automation sector is entering a decisive phase. While global mergers and acquisitions face a projected 7% contraction in 2026, Asia-Pacific stands alone as the sole region forecast to record positive deal volume growth, according to PwC's latest mid-year M&A outlook. At the heart of this divergence lies a fundamental shift: industrial manufacturers are racing toward automation at an unprecedented pace, with the share of highly automated processes expected to nearly triple from 18% to 50% by 2030. For the PLC market — the computational backbone of every automated production line — this signals a period of sustained, structurally driven demand expansion.

The APAC Exception in a Contracting Global Market

PwC's mid-year data paints a stark, bifurcated picture. Global industrials and services deal volumes are projected to decline by 7% in 2026, yet APAC is forecast to post a 2% increase — making it the only region in positive territory. Industrial manufacturing, specifically, is expected to outperform most other subsectors, with global manufacturing deal volumes estimated to rise by 5%.

The numbers reveal a deeper narrative: investors are betting on manufacturing capacity expansion where automation density is climbing fastest. APAC's unique convergence of government industrial policy support, competitive labour-cost dynamics, and aggressive smart-factory adoption is creating a deal-making environment unmatched anywhere else in the world.

The Automation Tipping Point: From 18% to 50% by 2030

Perhaps the most consequential data point from PwC's outlook is the projected trajectory of automation adoption. The median share of industrial manufacturers operating highly automated processes currently sits at just 18%. By 2030, that figure is expected to reach 50% — a near-tripling in less than a decade.

This is not incremental change. It represents a structural reconfiguration of how goods are produced globally. For context, moving from 18% to 50% automation penetration across the industrial manufacturing base means millions of additional production lines will require programmable logic controllers, distributed control systems, and industrial networking infrastructure. The PLC market, in particular, occupies a uniquely defensible position in this transition: every automated cell, every robotic work station, and every smart conveyor system depends on PLCs for real-time control.

PLC Market: The Quiet Beneficiary of a Capital Expenditure Supercycle

Programmable logic controllers have been the silent workhorses of industrial automation for decades, but the investment dynamics now unfolding are anything but quiet. As manufacturers pour capital into greenfield smart factories and brownfield retrofits alike, PLC demand is being pulled forward across multiple vectors simultaneously.

Three structural tailwinds are converging. First, the sheer volume of new automated production capacity being built across APAC — particularly in India, Vietnam, and Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs — is creating PLC demand from the ground up. Second, legacy facilities in more mature markets are undertaking large-scale retrofit programs to remain competitive, replacing aging PLC infrastructure with modern, IIoT-compatible controllers. Third, the accelerating convergence of OT and IT networks is expanding the functional scope of PLCs, transforming them from simple logic controllers into edge-computing nodes capable of running analytics and machine learning inference at the production line.

Why Global Manufacturing Deals Are Bucking the Downward Trend

While the broader industrials and services category faces a 7% global decline, the manufacturing subsector is projected to grow deal volumes by 5%. This anomaly reflects a pragmatic recalibration by institutional investors and strategic acquirers. Manufacturing assets with embedded automation capabilities are being revalued upward, seen not as commoditised industrial capacity but as technology-intensive platforms with defensible moats.

Private equity firms, in particular, are targeting mid-market manufacturers with above-average automation density, recognising that these businesses offer both operational resilience and scalable EBITDA improvement potential through further digitisation. The logic is self-reinforcing: higher automation penetration attracts higher valuation multiples, which in turn fuels more acquisition activity — and more automation investment post-acquisition. The PLC market sits at the centre of this virtuous cycle, as every newly integrated acquisition almost invariably triggers a controls-system upgrade or standardisation initiative.

Strategic Implications for Industrial Stakeholders

For PLC manufacturers and industrial automation suppliers, the PwC data validates a multi-year investment thesis. The 2% APAC deal-volume growth figure may appear modest in isolation, but it must be read alongside the 18%-to-50% automation penetration trajectory. Together, they signal not a cyclical uptick but a secular re-rating of automation as an asset class.

For end-users and systems integrators, the message is equally clear: the window for securing preferred pricing, lead-time slots, and engineering talent is narrowing. As deal volumes accelerate into 2026 and beyond, competition for automation components — particularly advanced PLCs with integrated safety and motion control — will intensify. Forward-planning procurement strategies are no longer optional.