Within five years, India has doubled the number of industrial robots operating in the country´s factories.
Globally there is a new Record of 2.7 Million Robots Work In Factories: World Robotics by IFR reports
Bengaluru, NFAPost: While India doubled its industrial robot installations, the new World Robotics 2020 Industrial Robots report presented by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) shows a record of 2.7 million industrial robots operating in factories around the world.
According to the report, the robotics workforce registered an increase of 12%. Sales of new robots remain on a high level with 373,000 units shipped globally in 2019. This is 12% less compared to 2018, but still the 3rd highest sales volume ever recorded.
India has a record 26,300 units installed registering 15% growth in the sector. Within five years, India has doubled the number of industrial robots operating in the country´s factories.
Commenting on the findings, International Federation of Robotics President Milton Guerry said the stock of industrial robots operating in factories around the world today marks the highest level in history.
Automotive industry
“Driven by the success story of smart production and automation this is a worldwide increase of about 85% within five years (2014-2019). The recent slowdown in sales by 12% reflects the difficult times the two main customer industries, automotive and electrical/electronics, have experienced,” said International Federation of Robotics President Milton Guerry.
In addition to that, International Federation of Robotics President Milton Guerry said the consequences from the coronavirus pandemic for the global economy cannot be fully assessed yet.
“The remaining months of 2020 will be shaped by adaption to the ´new normal´. Robot suppliers adjust to the demand for new applications and developing solutions. A major stimulus from large-scale orders is unlikely this year,” said International Federation of Robotics President Milton Guerry.
International Federation of Robotics President Milton Guerry came up wth the point that China might be an exception, because the coronavirus was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019 and the country already started its recovery in the second quarter.
Cobot installations
“Other economies report to be at the turning point right now. But it will take a few months until this translates into automation projects and robot demand. 2021 will see recovery, but it may take until 2022 or 2023 to reach the pre-crisis level,” said International Federation of Robotics President Milton Guerry.
The report also highlighted the fact that the adoption of human-robot collaboration is on the rise. The report states cobot installations grew by 11%.
“This dynamic sales performance was in contrast to the overall trend with traditional industrial robots in 2019. As more and more suppliers offer collaborative robots and the range of applications becomes bigger, the market share reached 4.8% of the total of 373,000 industrial robots installed in 2019. Although this market is growing rapidly, it is still in its infancy,” states the report.
Asia, Europe and the Americas – overview
Asia remains the strongest market for industrial robots – operational stock for the region´s largest adopter China rose by 21% and reached about 783,000 units in 2019. Japan ranks second with about 355,000 units – plus 12 %.
A runner-up is India with a new record of about 26,300 units – plus 15%. Within five years, India has doubled the number of industrial robots operating in the country´s factories.
The share of newly installed robots in Asia was about two thirds of global supply. Sales of almost 140,500 new robots in China is below the record years of 2018 and 2017 but still more than double the numbers sold five years ago (2014: 57,000 units). Installations of top Asian markets slowed down – in China (minus 9%) and Japan (minus 10%).
Europe
Europe reached an operational stock of 580,000 units in 2019 – plus 7%. Germany remains the main user with an operational stock of about 221,500 units – this is about three times the stock of Italy (74,400 units), five times the stock of France (42,000 units) and about ten times the stock of the UK (21,700 units).
Americas
The USA is the largest industrial robot user in the Americas, reaching a new operational stock record of about 293.200 units – up 7%. Mexico comes second with 40,300 units, which is a plus of 11% followed by Canada with about 28,600 units – plus 2%.
New installations in the United States slowed down by 17% in 2019 compared to the record year of 2018. Although, with 33,300 shipped units, sales remain on a very high level representing the second strongest result of all time. Most of the robots in the USA are imported from Japan and Europe.
Although, there are not many North American robot manufacturers, there are numerous important robot system integrators. Mexico ranks second in North America with almost 4,600 units – a slowdown of 20%. Sales in Canada are 1% up to a new record of about 3,600 shipped units.
The report finds that globally, COVID-19 has a strong impact on 2020 – but also offers a chance for modernisation and digitalisation of production on the way to recovery.
“In the long run, the benefits of increasing robot installations remain the same: Rapid production and delivery of customized products at competitive prices are the main incentives. Automation enables manufacturers to keep production in developed economies – or reshore it – without sacrificing cost efficiency,” states the report
The range of industrial robots continues to expand – from traditional caged robots capable of handling all payloads quickly and precisely to new collaborative robots that work safely alongside humans, fully integrated into workbenches.
