Summary of Key Points from the Conference Call Industry Overview - The report focuses on the **Industrial Automation (IA)** sector in **China** and highlights the ongoing trends in demand and market dynamics as of **July 2025** [1][2][13]. Core Insights - **Demand Trends**: - Local IA suppliers experienced a sales growth of **+19% YoY** in July, up from **+18% YoY** in June and **+15% YoY** in May [2][13]. - Inovance's IA order growth improved to over **20% YoY** in July, up from **15% YoY** in June [2][13]. - Key sectors showing solid growth include **logistics, hoisting, battery, auto, woodworking, food & beverage, textile, machine tool, and packaging** [2][13]. - **Overseas Brands Performance**: - Sales growth for leading overseas IA suppliers moderated to **+1% YoY** in July from **+6% YoY** in June [3][13]. - Yaskawa's servo sales growth remained strong at **+25% YoY**, while inverter sales in China dropped to **-11% YoY** [3][13]. - ABB's inverter sales fell to **-6% YoY** from **+10% YoY**, indicating competitive pricing pressures [3][13]. - **Taiwanese Peers**: - Hiwin's sales were weak at **-6% YoY** in July, while Airtac maintained a firm growth of **+7% YoY** [4][13]. - Management expects automation demand to pick up in Q4 as interest rates are cut in the EU and US [4][13]. Macro Indicators - **Manufacturing PMI**: - The Manufacturing PMI declined slightly to **49.3** in July from **49.7** in June, indicating softened confidence in the manufacturing sector [5][67]. - High-end, large, and small companies' PMIs all dropped, while mid-sized companies' PMI recovered to **49.5** [5][67]. - **Business Conditions Index (BCI)**: - The BCI remained at **53.4** in July, down from a peak of **57.7** in April, reflecting cautious investment outlooks among SMEs [67]. - **Export Growth**: - Container export volumes in major ports increased to **+1.9%** in June from **+1.3%** in May, while total exports improved to **+7.2%** in July from **+5.9%** [67]. Sector-Specific Insights - **Servo and Inverter Demand**: - Projected servo demand growth remained at **+12% YoY** in July, while inverter demand fell back to **-2% YoY** [13][18]. - The top downstream applications for servos include **lithium battery, 3C electronics, industrial robots, solar, and machine tools** [24][30]. - **Downstream Demand Trends**: - Demand for servos from top applications slowed to **+15% YoY** in June from **+82% YoY** in May, primarily due to deteriorating solar demand [26][30]. - Inverter demand from top applications improved slightly to **+3% YoY** in June from **+2% YoY** in May, driven by recovery in machine tools and power sectors [26][30]. Conclusion - The IA sector in China is experiencing a divergence in growth between local and overseas suppliers, with local players showing stronger performance amid ongoing macroeconomic challenges. The outlook for the second half of 2025 remains cautiously optimistic, supported by favorable government policies and potential recovery in key sectors.