The robotics market shows contrasting trends in 2024, reflecting divergent performances across sectors and regions. According to recent reports from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), while North American robot orders saw an overall decline, the global service robot market experienced substantial growth.
In North America, the first half of 2024 showed a contraction in industrial robot sales. A3’s latest report revealed that orders were down 7.9%, with 15,705 units sold, while revenue decreased by 6.8% to $982.83 million compared to the same period in 2023. The automotive industry, traditionally a major consumer of robotics, displayed mixed results. Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) increased their robot orders by 14.4% to 4,159 units, yet revenue from these orders dropped by 12%. In contrast, the automotive components sector saw a sharper downturn, with orders plummeting by 38.8% and revenue by 27.3%.
Outside of the automotive industry, several non-automotive sectors demonstrated stronger demand for robotics. The food and consumer goods industry reported an 85.6% increase in orders, driven by companies seeking to automate amid labor shortages and rising production costs. Similarly, the life sciences sector saw a 47.9% rise in orders, alongside an 86.7% increase in revenue, reflecting the growing reliance on robotics for efficiency and precision. However, other industries such as semiconductor and electronics/photonics experienced significant declines, with orders dropping by 40% due to supply chain challenges and reduced capital expenditure.
On the global stage, service robots marked a contrasting narrative, with the IFR reporting a 30% increase in professional service robot sales. More than 205,000 units were sold worldwide, with nearly 80% originating from the Asia-Pacific region. The transportation and logistics sector accounted for over half of these sales, driven by the need for automation in tasks like loading and unloading, especially in light of widespread labor shortages. The hospitality and agricultural sectors also saw significant growth, with sales of hospitality robots up 31% and agricultural robots increasing by 21%.
The rising demand for medical robots further underscored the diverse applications of service robotics. Sales of medical robots grew by 36% in 2023, driven largely by a surge in rehabilitation, therapy, and diagnostic robots. The United States led the global market in the production of service and medical robots, followed by China and Germany.
Overall, the robotics market in 2024 reveals a complex picture. While North American industrial robot sales have faltered, impacted by economic challenges and reduced investment in certain sectors, the global service robot market continues to expand, driven by technological advancements and growing demand across diverse industries.
