A3: North American robotic orders drop for 2nd quarter in a row

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The Affiliation for Advancing Automation (A3) tracks the variety of robots offered to North American firms every quarter. | Supply: A3

37% fewer robots had been bought in April by means of June of 2023 than throughout the identical interval of 2022, in line with the Affiliation for Advancing Automation’s (A3) newest report. This slowdown within the robotics business is because of a low US economic system and excessive rates of interest, in line with A3. 

That is the second quarter in a row the robotics business has seen a decline in gross sales in North America, following a record-breaking 2021 and 2022. From April to July of 2023, North American firms ordered 7,697 robots valued at $457 million, a 37% decline in robotic orders and 20% drop in worth from the identical interval in 2022. 

For all the 12 months thus far, the North American robotics market has ordered 16,865 robots, down 29% in comparison with the primary half of final 12 months.

“Over the past 5 years, we’ve seen a gentle acceleration of robotic orders as all industries have struggled with a labor scarcity and extra non-automotive firms acknowledge the large worth automation gives,” Alex Shikany, vp of membership and enterprise intelligence at A3, mentioned. ”After this post-COVID surge, nevertheless, we’re seeing a downside in purchases, exacerbated by the gradual economic system and excessive rates of interest. Whereas many firms proceed to automate, others simply don’t have the capital to speculate proper now, regardless of their battle to search out employees keen to do lots of the uninteresting, soiled and harmful jobs that stay unfilled.”

Whereas gross sales have slowed down in 2023, each 2021 and 2022 had been report years for North American robotic gross sales. North American firms ordered 44,196 robots in 2022, an 11% improve from 2021, and far of these gross sales occurred within the first 9 months of the 12 months. 

On the finish of 2021, and into 2022, the business noticed three record-high quarters in a row. Gross sales started to gradual in Q3, although they had been nonetheless greater than in the identical quarter in 2021. 

In Q2 of this 12 months, non-automotive prospects ordered extra robots than automotive prospects, with 52% of models going to non-automotive industries and 48% going to automotive OEMs and part suppliers. Each classes are down in comparison with the second quarter of final 12 months. 

The strongest demand for robots in Q2 got here from the semiconductor and electronics industries adopted by life sciences/pharma and biomedical, plastics and rubber, and metals. Automotive parts, meals and shopper items, and automotive OEMs confirmed the largest drops. 

It ought to be famous A3 solely collects gross sales knowledge on conventional industrial robots. It doesn’t gather knowledge about autonomous cellular robots or collaborative robotic arms. If A3 recorded gross sales for a lot of these robots, too, gross sales numbers could be greater.