The new World Robotics 2020 Industrial
Robots report shows a record of 2.7
million industrial robots operating in
factories around the world – 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.
“The stock of industrial robots
operating in factories around the world
today marks the highest level in
history,” says Milton Guerry, President
of the International Federation of
Robotics. “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.”
“In addition to that, the consequences
from the coronavirus pandemic for the
global economy cannot be fully assessed
yet,” proceeds Milton Guerry. “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. 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. 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.”
AK
Schultz, Co-founder and CEO of SVT
Robotics
added, "In 2020, we initially witnessed
a slowdown of demand, followed by a
steady uptick.
It was as if Q2 did not happen. Once
companies got their footing in Q3, they
realized that the long-term strategy
must involve robotics."
Other observations SVT Robotics' AK
Schultz made include:
The equation is no longer JUST about
efficiency. It is also now about
resiliency.
The customer profile for robotics used
to be forward-leaning companies
(innovators and early adopters). My
sense is the early majority is convinced
that they must embrace robotics. It is
also my sense that COVID-19 is dragging
the late majority into the market.
The companies that had adopted
automation were better positioned to
weather or even flourish during the
pandemic.
Some of these companies are "taking it
to eleven." By improving their use of
technology (including robotics), they
are protecting their employees and doing
so without efficiency impacts. One
retailer sees this as a huge advantage
even post pandemic. They believe that
they will have far less absenteeism for
normal illness. In a tight labor market,
small improvements there will have a
huge impact.
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%).
Annual installations
of industrial robots TOP 15
countries
In China, the
broad majority of 71% of new
robots was shipped in from
foreign suppliers. Chinese
manufacturers still mainly cater
to the domestic market, where
they gain increasing market
shares. Foreign suppliers
deliver some 29% of their units
to the automotive industry,
while it is only around 12% for
Chinese suppliers. Therefore,
foreign suppliers are more
affected by the decline of
business in the Chinese
automotive industry than the
domestic suppliers.
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).
Robot sales show a
differentiated picture for the
largest markets within the
European Union: About 20,500
robots were installed in
Germany. This is below the
record year 2018 (minus 23%) but
on the same level as 2014-2016.
Sales in France (+15%), Italy
(+13%) and the Netherlands (+8%)
went up. Robotics in the United
Kingdom remains on a low level –
new installations slowed down by
16%. The newly installed 2,000
units in the UK are about ten
times less than the shipments in
Germany (20,500 units), about
five times less than in Italy
(11,100 units) and about three
times less than in France (6,700
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.
South America´s number one
operational stock is in Brazil
with almost 15,300 units – plus
8%. Sales slowed down by 17%
with about 1,800 installations –
still one of the best results
ever - only beaten by record
shipments in 2018.
Worldwide trend in human-robot
collaboration
The adoption of human-robot
collaboration is on the rise. We
saw 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.
Collaborative and
traditional industrial robots
Outlook
Globally, COVID-19 has a strong
impact on 2020 - but also offers
a chance for modernization and
digitalization 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. 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.