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 basically flat within the first quarter of 2025, based on the Affiliation for Advancing Automation (A3). The group discovered that corporations bought 9,064 items valued at $580.7 million in Q1 of 2025.
In comparison with Q1 2024, this represents a 0.4% improve in items ordered and a 15% rise so as worth, signaling continued demand and elevated funding in higher-value automation techniques.
2024 was a slower 12 months for the North American robotics {industry}, with a robust ending. 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.
Whereas the automotive {industry} has traditionally been the most important 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 at the beginning of 2025.
“The primary quarter information highlights a continued resilience in automation funding, notably within the automotive sector, at the same time as producers navigate a fancy macroeconomic surroundings,” mentioned Alex Shikany, govt vp at A3. “On the identical time, some sectors are taking a extra cautious strategy as broader financial uncertainty persists.”
Demand from automotive unique gear producers (OEMs) was the first development driver, with 3,668 items ordered valued at $263 million—a 42% improve in items and a 78% improve in income over Q1 2024.
The income development displays not solely increased quantity, but in addition a shift within the kinds of purposes being automated this quarter, with a higher share of orders tied to higher-value techniques, A3 mentioned. In distinction, orders from automotive element 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% improve so as worth. Sectors reminiscent of meals and shopper items, metals, and semiconductors skilled year-over-year declines.
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A3 shares its first collaborative robotic numbers
A3 has begun reporting collaborative robotic (cobot) statistics as a part of its official quarterly information, making it the primary industry-wide dataset of its type in North America.
“We’re proud to launch this new stage of reporting,” mentioned Shikany. “Cobots are one of many fastest-growing areas of robotics adoption, and offering clear, dependable information on the place they’re getting used will assist producers, integrators, and suppliers make extra knowledgeable choices.”
In Q1 2025, North American corporations ordered 1,052 collaborative robots valued at $39.2 million. Cobots accounted for 11.6% of all robots ordered and 6.8% of whole income this quarter. A3 discovered that cobot demand was strongest in industries prioritizing flexibility and secure human-machine collaboration:
- Life Sciences/Pharma/Biomed: 127 items ($7.1M)
- Meals & Client Items: 114 items ($4.5M)
- All Different Industries: 419 items ($13.5M)
In every of those segments, collaborative robots made up over 20% of whole demand. Common Robots, a number one cobot supplier, launched its UR15 in the present day. The UR15 has a most TCP pace of 5 m/s to cut back cycle instances, improve productiveness, and cut back prices throughout purposes and industries.