Global Industrial Robot Shipments Pass Half-Million Mark
Global industrial robot shipments surpassed 500,000 units in 2023, according to market intelligence from Interact Analysis. This milestone comes as the sector begins to recover from a revenue and shipment downturn that marked the year as a low point compared to the record highs of 2021. While shipment volumes matched those of 2022, average unit prices fell, signaling shifts in both market demand and product mix.
Maya Xiao, research manager at Interact Analysis, noted, “The average price per unit of an industrial robot is on a downward trajectory, following a rise for two consecutive years, and we expect a price decline of around 3% per year between 2024 and 2028.” She explained that the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with high energy prices and inflation, had driven prices upward in 2022. Expectations for a price drop in 2023 were tempered by lingering supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures, with prices hovering near 2022 levels. The trend toward heavy payload robots—more expensive due to their material and structural requirements—also contributed to the price effect.
Despite recent volatility, long-term projections remain optimistic. Interact Analysis anticipates average annual growth of 3.7% in the global industrial robot market from 2024 through 2028. This growth will be shaped by regional dynamics and industry-specific demand patterns.
In the Americas, industrial robot sales to the automotive sector faced notable headwinds in 2023, slowing growth in one of the region’s largest downstream markets. Mexico’s reliance on automotive manufacturing magnified the impact, contributing to a 17.3% drop in overall regional growth. By contrast, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region posted modest gains, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) maintained stability. Revenue distribution underscores APAC’s dominance, with 62% of global industrial robot revenues, compared to 22% for EMEA and 17% for the Americas.
Post-pandemic recovery in the Americas initially saw strong adoption of robotics across both automotive and non-automotive manufacturing, driven by efforts to enhance production efficiency and cut costs. However, the recent slowdown reflects broader manufacturing contractions. Xiao emphasized, “We can see from our data that the growth profile for industrial robots reflects the manufacturing slowdown during the pandemic era and the subsequent downturn in 2023. If we take a look at the manufacturing output figures for China, Europe and the Americas, the historic manufacturing contractions are synonymous with the decline in growth for the industrial robot market that we have observed in recent years.”
Application trends further define the market landscape. Material handling, welding, and assembly remain the top three uses for industrial robots, collectively accounting for over 70% of market revenues in 2023. Material handling alone represented one-third of revenues, with particular dominance in the Americas and Europe. The American market is marked by high supplier concentration, with the top five vendors capturing nearly 80% of revenues and more than two-thirds of unit shipments.
Industry data from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) provides additional perspective on regional performance. In North America, robot sales fell 6% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. A3 reported that companies purchased 8,582 robots between January and March, totaling $494 million in sales.
These figures illustrate the interplay between global supply chain resilience, regional manufacturing health, and evolving application demands. Heavy payload systems, while costlier, are becoming more prevalent in industries requiring robust automation solutions. Concurrently, the steady decline in average prices projected through 2028 may broaden accessibility, potentially enabling adoption in smaller-scale manufacturing environments where automation has historically been constrained by cost.
