An Association for Advancing Automation (A3) report says North American companies ordered 44,196 robots valued at $2.38 billion in 2022, a year-to-year increase in the number sold of 11 percent and an 18 percent increase in value over 2021, which set the previous record.
The automotive industry led sectors for new robot demand, ordering 23,807 robots — up from its 2021 total of 16,752. Orders from non-automotive industries slowed from the previous three years, although unique applications continue to emerge, such as robots cooking and serving food or placing drywall.
“Although labor shortage and supply chain issues impact nearly all industries in North America, automakers’ public commitment to move to electric vehicles (EVs) has set in motion a resurgence of robot orders in this market,” A3 President Jeff Burnstein said. “Automotive OEMs and components suppliers alike recognize that investing in robots is instrumental to the emergence of EVs as well as to manufacturing all vehicles as they compete to meet customer demand.”
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