Robotics market in North America records strongest opening quarter to date

New statistics from the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) show that the North American robotics market has set new records to begin 2016, as a total of 7,406 robots valued at approximately $402 million were ordered from North American companies during the first quarter of the year.

The number of units ordered in Q1 is a new record among opening quarters, growing 7% year-over-year from 2015. Robot shipments also set a new opening quarter record, with 125 robots valued at $448 million being shipped to North American customers, which represents 2% growth in units 21% in dollars over the same quarter last year. Not all news was great, however, as order revenue decreased by 8% in the first quarter.

"It is encouraging to see so many new companies adopting robotics for use in their operations," said Jeff Burnstein, President of RIA. "Companies of all sizes are realizing that robots are more affordable than ever before and can help them increase their productivity to remain competitive in today’s global economy."

One contributing factor to the overall success in Q1 was due to a rise in the use of robotics in non-automotive industries: Semiconductors and electronics (Year-over-year growth of 90%), food and consumer goods (82%), and plastics and rubber (44%). While still the largest industry in terms of volume for robotics, orders to the automotive industry grew only 1% year-over-year. For applications, the biggest increases were registered in spot welding (31%), assembly (15%), and material handling (6%).

"As the technology behind robots is evolving, the number of tasks they are able to perform is increasing," said Jeff Burnstein, President of RIA. "Today more than ever, robots can handle complex tasks at fast speeds, leading to high productivity for customers. Disruptive innovations like collaborative robots are helping to drive adoption of robotics in new and exciting ways, and that is promising for the future of our industry."

At The Vision Show 2016, Jeff Burnstein told me that the show’s Collaborative Robots exhibit, which drew people to "see how vision works with collaborative robots," was one of the main reasons the show was the largest one to date. The other reasons, Burnstein noted, were continuing and increased interest in vision as a critical technology, and the fact that imaging has gone beyond just “the factory floor.”

RIA estimates that some 262,000 robots are now at use in North American factories, which is third to Japan and China in robot use.

View more information on the RIA.

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