A3 government vp Alex Shikany talking at Collaborate North America 2025. | Credit score: Brianna Wessling, The Robotic Report
Whereas 2024 was a sluggish 12 months for the robotics business, the Affiliation for Advancing Automation (A3) is extra optimistic about 2025.
After a sluggish first three quarters of the 12 months, A3’s newest robotics statistics present a powerful ending to 2024. North American corporations ordered 8,277 robots valued at $506 million in This autumn, reflecting 8% development in each items and income in comparison with This autumn 2023. Meals and shopper items led the quarter with 77% year-over-year development, pushed by seasonal demand and continued funding in automation, A3 mentioned.
“There’s numerous optimism and numerous indicators proper now that 2025, and even into 2026 and 2027, being sturdy years for automation,” Alex Shikany, government vp of A3, informed The Robotic Report final week at Collaborate North America 2025.
Total, North American corporations ordered 31,311 robots valued at $1.963 billion, representing slight will increase of 0.5% in items and 0.1% in income over 2023.
Register right this moment to save lots of 40% on convention passes!
What’s occurring within the automotive business?
Regardless of This autumn’s beneficial properties, robotic gross sales within the automotive business remained sluggish. Whereas historically a powerful supporter of robotics, automotive orders declined 15% in 2024 in comparison with 2023, based on A3. Nonetheless, Shikany believes automotive orders will bounce again by the tip of 2025.
“I feel there may be room to develop in automotive,” he mentioned. “What we noticed over the past two years, with the decrease portions of orders, had much more to do with producers pivoting their methods with regard to not getting the efficiency they thought they’d get out of all their electrical ambitions.”
Many automotive corporations guess on shoppers shopping for electrical autos (EVs) in droves. Nonetheless, EV adoption has been slower than anticipated for a lot of automakers.
“What I’m seeing and listening to now’s that there’s a wave coming from the automotive business, and it hasn’t hit shore but,” Shikany mentioned.
“The automotive business is a mature market relative to robotics. It’s been round a very long time, and they don’t seem to be strangers to deploying robots,” he continued. “However they usually must retool their meeting and manufacturing traces to accommodate new autos and issues.”
Meals & shopper items, life sciences drive development
North American robotic orders have fallen in recent times however remained largely regular in 2024. | Supply: A3
Meals and shopper items emerged as 2024’s fastest-growing sector, with robotic orders surging 65%. Life sciences, prescription drugs, and biomedical had been different industries that posted sturdy outcomes with 46% development in orders.
Shikany mentioned the largest areas of development for robotics within the years to come back might be in consumer-driven industries, together with warehousing, agriculture, and building. Folks will all the time want meals and housing, they usually doubtless gained’t cease buying on-line any time quickly.
“You see a bunch of malls closing everywhere in the United States,” he mentioned. “Gone are the times when brick and mortar had been the best way that you just get your buying completed.”
Different sectors, like semiconductors and electrics, didn’t have a powerful finish to 2024. Semiconductor and electronics orders fell by 37% yearly, reflecting provide chain pressures and cooling demand, whereas metals noticed a 4% decline.
Geographically in the USA, Shikany mentioned he sees numerous robotics potential within the Midwest and Rust Belt. “There’s only a various vary of industries with a excessive density of corporations on this space of the nation,” he mentioned. “In the event you have a look at their adoption of our applied sciences, they’re at a comparatively low charge in comparison with what the alternatives are.”
Constraints shifting ahead
Shikany mentioned 2025, notably the second half, might be optimistic for robotics. However, after all, there are nonetheless issues to be cautious of. For instance, small and medium-sized enterprises nonetheless usually see robotics as too difficult to implement.
“Some corporations imagine that robotics automation is an excessive amount of to chew off, so to talk. We don’t must automate [in the U.S.], we are able to proceed to do enterprise we’ve all the time completed it and be simply positive,” he mentioned. “However that’s changing into much less true by the day, as extra corporations internationally are adopting these applied sciences.”
Moreover, some staff nonetheless see robotics as competitors or a risk to their jobs.
“Time and time once more, now we have documented that with many corporations, the precise reverse occurs,” he mentioned. “Workers have extra satisfaction of their jobs and their work once they get to work with upgraded tech.”
“Robots are going to be working alongside folks for a few years to come back,” Shikany mentioned. “I feel you’ll finally see ‘lights out’ services achieved, however frankly, I imagine that’s going to require a ground-up imaginative and prescient, the place each step of the method from planning that facility by designing it has all the required expertise prepared for it.”
Shikany warns that corporations that don’t automate run the chance of falling behind.
“In the event you’re sitting there, and also you’re saying to your self, it’s too complicated, it’s too expansive, you’re going to be left behind,” he mentioned. “Or, your competitors goes to be the one which finally ends up adopting it, and also you’re going to be at an obstacle.”
A3 president Jeff Burnstein just lately wrote an open letter to the Trump administration that mentioned automation is essential to reshoring manufacturing to the U.S. He beneficial that the federal authorities work with the robotics business to develop a technique to successfully compete economically and in nationwide safety.
