It was a solid if not spectacular year for industrial robot sales in North America, with unit sales up 11% to 44,200 in 2022. (See graphic from Reuters below.)
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That according to new analysis from the Association for Advancing Automation, an industry group also known as A3.
A3 reports that results were even stronger in terms of the value of those robots sold, up 18% versus 2021 to $2,38 billion. The value of those machines totaled $2.38 billion, an 18% increase over the prior year, according to the data.
Given the severe labor shortages in many if not most areas of the country, 11% unit growth could be viewed as modest. And indeed, the A3 data showed there was a clear pullback in orders at the end of the year, a questionable sign relative to sales growth in 2023.
"The fourth quarter was really propped up by the strength in the auto industry," said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. "We saw a falling-off in non-automotive" orders.
Automobile makers and their suppliers dominated the market in 2022, representing more than 50% of total orders, many going to start or ramp up production of electric vehicles.
The robots ordered last year will be deployed for “material handling ,” a broad category that includes all types of movement and handling of goods inside factories and warehouses.
A graphic of industial robot sales by year is shown below, showing robot sales have jumped in the past two years after three years of flatness dating prior to the pandemic.
Source: Reuters
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In warehouses, that includes robots of several typesthat support order picking processes, and automated guided vehicles (AGV) that typically move loads from point A to point B.
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