U.S. Robot Sales in Manufacturing Boom Over Strong Supplier Base

According to a new report by How To Robot, Gain & Co, and The Association for Advancing Automation, robotics and automation are picking up fast among manufacturers in North America. 2021 brought about record robot sales of 39,708 for a total worth of over $2 billion, which is a dramatic increase of 28% over the 2020 sales figures. This boom is due to the strong robot supplier and integrator presence in the U.S. is fueling the growth, showing an outstanding ability for implementation, the report shows.

“What makes robotics companies in the U.S. unique is their ability to take existing technologies from across the globe and adapt them to real-life manufacturing needs. This is particularly useful in the current situation, where automation is urgently needed,” said Søren Peters, Group CEO of HowToRobot and Gain & Co.

“Robotics technology is transforming the way business is done across a wide variety of industries, from mature segments like automotive to relatively new areas like retail, construction, and agriculture,” said Alex Shikany, Vice President of A3. “Companies of all sizes are realizing at record rates that robotics and related automation technologies increase productivity, provide better working environments and career opportunities for employees, and are a necessity to compete on the world stage.”

The U.S. has an exceptionally high share of systems integrators covering the market, the report shows. 69% of the 1,187 robot suppliers in the U.S. covered by the research are systems integrators – meaning companies that sell and often implement integrated automation solutions with robots (but typically do not manufacture the robots themselves). This is a relatively high share of integrators compared to the average of 45% across 19 other countries studied by HowToRobot. 12% of the suppliers based in the U.S. manufacture robots.