• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Your Membership
    • Edit Your Profile
  • Services
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsored posts
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Cart
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Events

Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

  • News
  • Features
  • Video
  • Webinars
  • White papers
  • Press releases
  • Featured companies
    • BlueBotics
    • SICK Sensor Intelligence
    • Vicor Power

Industrial robot sales have ‘strongest year ever’ in 2021

February 2, 2022 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Industrial robot sales in North America have had their “strongest year ever in 2021”, according to a new report by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).

Propelled by a surge in non-automotive sectors, the number of robots sold in North America set a new record in 2021, with 39,708 units sold at a value of $2 billion, a 14 percent increase over the previous high in 2017.

A3 says the number of robots sold in 2021 rose 28 percent over 2020. Record robot sales in the fourth quarter of the year – up 9 percent over Q4 2020 – demonstrated the strong momentum already realized through the previous nine months as more industries look to automation to increase productivity and alleviate ongoing labor shortages.

Jeff Burnstein, president of A3, says: “More industries recognized that robotics could help reverse productivity declines and fill repetitive jobs human workers don’t want. It is no longer a choice whether to deploy robots and automation.

“It’s now an absolute imperative. As we’ve long believed – and users continue to confirm – robots help companies compete, ultimately creating more jobs to handle their growth.”

2021 shows continued trend of non-automotive ordering more robots

Non-automotive orders now represent 58 percent of the North American total. Unit sales to non-automotive industries saw the following increases in 2021 over 2020:

  • Metals: up 91 percent over 2020
  • Food and Consumer Goods: up 29 percent
  • Semiconductors and Electronics/Photonics: up 2 percent
  • Plastics and Rubber: up 4 percent
  • Life Sciences/Pharma/Biomed: up 4 percent
  • All Other Industries: up 65 percent

Burnstein adds: “Improvements in technology, new financing models and simpler applications continue to be positive trend lines leading into 2022, in particular helping small companies automate and join the global stage.”

Joe Montano, president and CEO of Delphon, a customer of A3 member Rapid Robotics, says: “Hiring technicians and machine operators in the Bay Area is always difficult, and it became even harder during the pandemic.

“Meanwhile, a new generation of rentable robots had made the costs feasible for facilities like ours to make a measured entry into automation.

“By hiring robots to operate machines for pad printing and component cleaning, we were able to redeploy eight operators to other jobs and see a $70,000 return on investment in less than a year.”

Q4 sales and value explained

October through December of 2021 marked the highest and second-highest quarter on record for units and revenue, respectively. Non-automotive customers ordered 6,618 robots in Q4, which represents 61 percent of total units ordered.

Automotive-related customers purchased 4,211 units, 39 percent of total orders. The following non-automotive industries in Q4 saw increases over the same quarter in 2020:

  • Metals: up 23 percent
  • Food and Consumer Goods: up 14 percent
  • Semi and Electronics/Photonics: up 12 percent
  • Plastics and Rubber: down 25 percent
  • All Other Industries: up 74 percent
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Skype
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • Pocket

You might also like…

Filed Under: Industrial robots, News Tagged With: industries, non-automotive, percent, robots, sales

Join the Robotics & Automation News community

Reader Interactions

You must log in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest articles

  • How robots and RPA will change the business of the future
  • The Pros and Cons of Selling vs Trading in Your Vehicle
  • How to Ensure Your Drivers Stay Safe on the Road
  • Reasons Why You Need to Buy a Rotary Fill and Seal Coffee Packaging Machine
  • Fulfyld selects inVia Robotics to automate warehouses
  • DB Schenker to operate zero-emission autonomous ship for Ekornes
  • Southie Autonomy secures $2.5 million seed funding and $5 million in robot lease financing
  • Daimler Truck makes strategic investment in Apex.AI
  • Berkshire Grey launches new mobile robotic platform
  • Clearpath Robotics launches latest version of TurtleBot

Most Read

  • Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
    Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
  • Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
    Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
  • Track your lost Android
    Track your lost Android
  • Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
    Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
  • Top 25 vertical farming companies
    Top 25 vertical farming companies
  • The Best Mechanical Engineering Design Software in 2022
    The Best Mechanical Engineering Design Software in 2022
  • Wood that’s twice as expensive as gold? Really?
    Wood that’s twice as expensive as gold? Really?
  • Top 10 graphics processing unit manufacturers: Nvidia clearly in the lead
    Top 10 graphics processing unit manufacturers: Nvidia clearly in the lead
  • Industrial robot costs to drop by half in the next three years
    Industrial robot costs to drop by half in the next three years
  • How to become a G-Code master with a complete list of G-Codes
    How to become a G-Code master with a complete list of G-Codes

Overused words

abb ai applications automated automation automotive autonomous business china companies company control customers data design development digital electric global industrial industry logistics machine manufacturing market mobile platform process production robot robotic robotics robots safety software solution solutions system systems technologies technology time vehicle vehicles warehouse

Secondary Sidebar

Latest news

  • How robots and RPA will change the business of the future
  • The Pros and Cons of Selling vs Trading in Your Vehicle
  • How to Ensure Your Drivers Stay Safe on the Road
  • Reasons Why You Need to Buy a Rotary Fill and Seal Coffee Packaging Machine
  • Fulfyld selects inVia Robotics to automate warehouses
  • DB Schenker to operate zero-emission autonomous ship for Ekornes
  • Southie Autonomy secures $2.5 million seed funding and $5 million in robot lease financing
  • Daimler Truck makes strategic investment in Apex.AI
  • Berkshire Grey launches new mobile robotic platform
  • Clearpath Robotics launches latest version of TurtleBot

Footer

We are…

Robotics and Automation News was established in May, 2015, and is now one of the most widely-read websites in its category.

Please consider supporting us by becoming a paying subscriber, or through advertising and sponsorships, or by purchasing products and services through our shop – or a combination of all of the above.

Thank you.

Independent

Archivists

February 2022
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28  
« Jan   Mar »

Complex

Old-skool

This website and its associated magazine, and weekly newsletter, are all produced by a small team of experienced journalists and media professionals.

If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to contact us at any of the email addresses on our contact page.

We’d be happy to hear from you, and will always reply as soon as possible.

Future-facing

Free, fair and legal

We support the principles of net neutrality and equal opportunities.

Member of The Internet Defense League

Copyright © 2022 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT