North American robotic orders peaked in 2022, when the corporate skilled a number of report quarters in a row.
Robotic orders in North America remained primarily flat within the first quarter of 2025, in keeping with the Affiliation for Advancing Automation (A3). The group discovered that firms bought 9,064 items valued at $580.7 million in Q1 of 2025.
In comparison with Q1 2024, this represents a 0.4% enhance in items ordered and a 15% rise so as worth, signaling continued demand and elevated funding in higher-value automation programs.
2024 was a slower 12 months for the North American robotics {industry}, with a powerful ending. General, North American firms 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.
Whereas the automotive {industry} has traditionally been the biggest adopter of robotics, meals and shopper items emerged as 2024’s fastest-growing sector, with robotic orders surging 65%. This development, nevertheless, appears to be altering, with automotive gross sales driving development initially of 2025.
“The primary quarter knowledge highlights a continued resilience in automation funding, notably within the automotive sector, whilst producers navigate a posh macroeconomic surroundings,” stated Alex Shikany, govt vp at A3. “On the similar time, some sectors are taking a extra cautious strategy as broader financial uncertainty persists.”
Demand from automotive unique tools producers (OEMs) was the first development driver, with 3,668 items ordered valued at $263 million—a 42% enhance in items and a 78% enhance in income over Q1 2024.
The income development displays not solely larger quantity, but in addition a shift within the varieties of purposes being automated this quarter, with a larger share of orders tied to higher-value programs, A3 stated. In distinction, orders from automotive part suppliers declined 29% in items and 12% in worth year-over-year, totaling 1,407 items and $88 million.
Most non-automotive sectors skilled contraction relative to Q1 2024, apart from plastics and rubber, which noticed 12% development in items ordered and a 33% enhance so as worth. Sectors comparable to meals and shopper items, metals, and semiconductors skilled year-over-year declines.
Now accepting session submissions!
A3 shares its first collaborative robotic numbers
A3 has begun reporting collaborative robotic (cobot) statistics as a part of its official quarterly knowledge, making it the primary industry-wide dataset of its sort in North America.
“We’re proud to launch this new stage of reporting,” stated Shikany. “Cobots are one of many fastest-growing areas of robotics adoption, and offering clear, dependable knowledge on the place they’re getting used will assist producers, integrators, and suppliers make extra knowledgeable selections.”
In Q1 2025, North American firms ordered 1,052 collaborative robots valued at $39.2 million. Cobots accounted for 11.6% of all robots ordered and 6.8% of complete income this quarter. A3 discovered that cobot demand was strongest in industries prioritizing flexibility and protected human-machine collaboration:
- Life Sciences/Pharma/Biomed: 127 items ($7.1M)
- Meals & Shopper Items: 114 items ($4.5M)
- All Different Industries: 419 items ($13.5M)
In every of those segments, collaborative robots made up over 20% of complete demand. Common Robots, a number one cobot supplier, launched its UR15 in the present day. The UR15 has a most TCP velocity of 5 m/s to cut back cycle instances, enhance productiveness, and scale back prices throughout purposes and industries.
