Record robot sales in North America in 2022 as per latest A3 report

A recent report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) reveals that the North American robot sales robotics market set all-time records in both robots sold and value in 2022. According to the A3 report, North American companies ordered 44,196 robots valued at $2.38 billion last year, representing increases of 11 percent and 18 percent, respectively, over 2021, the previous record.

More than 50 percent of sales came from the automotive industry, which ordered 23,807 robots, up from 16,752 in 2021. While orders from non-automotive industries slowed from the previous three years, unique applications continued to emerge in such industries as food services, construction and agriculture, such as robots cooking and serving food, dry walling and even harvesting and picking.

“Although labour 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,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. “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.”

In the first nine months of 2022, North American companies purchased 35,804 robots, up 24 percent over the same period in 2021. While fourth-quarter orders slowed, with companies ordering only 8,392 robots, total numbers for the year from all industries resulted in the 11 percent record over 2021.

“While the numbers of robots sold to non-automotive companies aren’t as staggering as it’s been over the last couple of years, it’s clear that companies in every industry see automation as necessary for success,” Burnstein said. “We look forward to seeing more unique and increasingly easy-to-use robots that all industries can benefit from at Automate 2023 in Detroit this May.”