About the PT/MC Industry

What are power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) products?

Power transmission/motion control products drive machinery and are therefore found in virtually every industrial application. These products make machines move and accomplish the work for which they were designed. PT/MC products are found inside machines, factories, equipment―anywhere work is being done, you're likely to find PT/MC product. If you’ve ever watched the television show "How It's Made,"  you've seen PT/MC products in action. Some of the larger markets for PT/MC products include machinery manufacturing, mining & natural resource extraction, food & beverage processing, forestry, agriculture and automotive manufacturing.

Products include:

• Adjustable/variable speed drives

• Bearings

• Belt drives

• Chain drives

• Clutches and brakes

• Conveyors and material handling components

• Gearing

• Hydraulics and pneumatics

• Industrial specialty chemicals

• Linear motion

• Motors

• Motor/motion control devices

• Pumps

• Shaft couplings and U-joints

According to the Power Transmission & Motion Control Market Size Report (developed exclusively for PTDA by Industrial Market Information, Inc., in 2013, updated in 2016 and 2020), the total estimated market for PT/MC products in North America is $79.5 billion. The U.S. total market size is $65 billion with Canada and Mexico at $7 billion each.

Distributors typically serve MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) and smaller OEM (original equipment manufacturer) markets while manufacturers concentrate on large volume OEM business.