IFR World Robotics report says 4M robots are operating in factories globally

The International Federation of Robotics’ latest World Robotics report recorded 4,281,585 units operating in factories worldwide in 2023. This is a 10% increase from the year before. 

For the third year in a row, annual robot installations exceed half a million units, said the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). By region, 70% of all newly deployed robots in 2023 were installed in Asia, 17% in Europe, and 10% in the Americas. 

“The new World Robotics statistics show an all-time high in the number of industrial robots automating production around the world,” stated Marina Bill, president of the IFR. “The annual installation figure of 541,302 units in 2023 is the second highest in history. It is only 2% lower than the record of 552,946 units installed in 2022.”

While the OECD expects global growth to stabilize, geopolitical headwinds are still perceived as a major risk and uncertainty factor for the industry, said the IFR. Recent crises have raised political awareness of domestic production capacity in strategic industries, it noted.

Automation allows manufacturers to locate production in developed economies without sacrificing cost efficiency, according to the Frankfurt, Germany-based organization.

The IFR said it expects the global economic downturn to bottom out this year, with global robot installations leveling off at 541,000 units. It expects growth to accelerate in 2025 and continue in 2026 and 2027. There are no signs that the overall long-term growth trend will end in the near future, asserted the IFR. 

China dominates the Asian robotics market

China is by far the world’s largest market for automation. The 276,288 industrial robots installed in China in 2023 represent 51% of the global installations, said the World Robotics report. This is the second-highest jump in the number of installed robots in a country ever recorded, coming second to China’s 2022 growth of 290,144 robots installed. 

China isn’t just pushing for more robots to be installed within the country; it’s also increasing its share of robot manufacturers. The Chinese domestic market reached 47% in 2023. In contrast, it has fluctuated around 28% over the past decade. 

The operational stock was just shy of the 1.8 million-unit mark in 2023, making China the first and only country in the world with such a large robot stock, the IFR said. Demand for robots is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2024, contributing to a more stable market by the end of the year.

In the longer term, the IFR said there is still a lot of growth potential in Chinese manufacturing, with the potential for 5% to 10% average annual growth until 2027.

Japan remained the second-largest global market for industrial robots, behind China. Robot installations reached 46,106 units in 2023 – down 9% from the year before.

This followed two strong years, peaking at 50,435 units in 2022, the second-best result after 2018 (55,240 units). The IFR said it expected demand for robots there to remain stagnant in 2024 but recover in 2025 and the following years to medium and upper single-digit rates.

Meanwhile, the market in the Republic of Korea is trending sideways. Installations reached 31,444 units in 2023, down 1% year over year. The country was the fourth largest robot market in the world in terms of annual installations, after the U.S., Japan, and China.

India is one of the fastest growing emerging Asian economies. Robot installations increased by 59% to 8,510 units in 2023, a new high for the country. Demand from the automotive industry soared to 3,551 units, an increase of 139%. Both car manufacturers and suppliers contributed to this development.

World Robotics analyzes the European market

Industrial robot installations in Europe rose 9% to a new high of 92,393 units, said the World Robotics report. In total, 80% of installations in 2023 could be attributed to destinations in the European Union — 73,534 units, up by 2%.

Much of this growth was driven by delayed projects being completed and a backlog of projects being cleared in 2023, explained the IFR. Robot demand in the region also benefited from the nearshoring trend.

In 2023, growth was strongly driven by investments by the automotive industry in traditional countries such as Spain (5,053 units +31%), as well as in smaller markets such as Slovakia (2,174 units, +48%) or Hungary (1,657 units, +31%). Installations in Germany, the largest European market and the only European one in the global Top 5, were up 7% to 28,355 units.

Installations in the second largest European market, Italy, declined by 9% to 10,412 units. The third largest European market, France, was down 13%, installing 6,386 units.

In the U.K., industrial robot installations increased by 51% to 3,830 units in 2023. Investment was driven by installations in the automotive industry, mainly for assembly tasks.

The U.S. leads installations for the Americas

Robot installations in the Americas exceeded 50,000 units for the third year in a row, according to the World Robotics report. 55,389 units were installed in 2023, just 1% below the record level reached in 2022.

The U.S., the largest market in the region, accounted for 68% of installations in the Americas in 2023, said the IFR. Robot installations were down by 5% to 37,587, but this is the third-highest record figure for the country after 2022 and 2018.

Demand from the automotive industry fell by 15% to 12,421 units, in line with industry trends in the past decade, the IFR said. Installations in the metals and machinery industry were up 8% to 4,171 units. Installations in the U.S. electrical/electronics industry remained steady at 3,900 units (+1%).

In Canada, robot installations rose 37% to 4,311 units. Installation figures in Canada largely depend on automotive investment cycles. The share of the car industry was 58% in 2023.

Meanwhile, robot demand in Mexico is also driven by the automotive industry, which accounts for 70% of the market. Installations from this sector fell by 5% to 4,087 units, showing the cyclical demand pattern well known in this customer segment. Total installations reached 5,832 units in 2023, a decrease of 3%.

In addition, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) said that North American robot sales have declined by 8% in the first half of this year.

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