Industrial robots - worldwide shipments 2004-2019

Worldwide industrial robot shipments dipped to around 373,000 in 2019, a sharp decline from over 420 in 2018. The slump in demand for industrial robots occurred in all markets, but was mainly driven by a slowdown in Asia and Australia; 2019 marked the first contraction since 2013.

Leading industrial robot markets

Japan, China, the United States, South Korea, and Germany are counted among the five leading industrial robot markets worldwide. In emerging manufacturing markets, the growth trend is largely driven by rising wages that make the use of machines appear a viable alternative to human labor.

Leading applications for industrial robots

Industrial robots can be deployed for a wide range of tasks in a growing number of industries. Although the highly automated car manufacturing sector remains the largest area of application for electro-mechanical machines, industrial robots are continuously making their way into other areas such as the food and beverages industry. It has to be noted that the field of robotics is a part of another industry: the automation market. This industry is comprised of a variety of products and services, including relays, switches, sensors and drives, machine vision and control systems, as well as industry software development and services. Conglomerates like Siemens, Mitsubishi Electric or General Electric are the major vendors of industrial automation and industry software. The key players in the industrial robot market include ABB, KUKA, Fanuc, Kawasaki, and Yaskawa.