Robotic Industries Association (RIA) stats show more than 7% increase in units ordered compared with the first two quarters of 2018

ANN ARBOR, MI - August 20, 2019. In the first half of 2019, the North American robotics market is up 7.2%. From January to June, North American companies ordered 16,488 robots, valued at $869 million. These numbers were reported today by the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), part of the Association for Advancing Automation.

The largest driver of the year-to-date growth was an 83% increase in units ordered by automotive OEMs. Other industries that saw increases include semiconductor and electronics (12%), life sciences (8%), and food and consumer goods (3%). The chart here summarizes the growth rates of each industry.

In the second quarter alone, North American companies ordered 8,572 robots, valued at $446 million. This represents a growth of 19.2% in number of robots ordered, and a 0.6% boost in dollars compared to the same time period in 2018.

"Robot use continues to grow, which is helping make U.S. companies more competitive and leading to new job growth," said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation. "We are currently experiencing the greatest period of robot expansion in history—over 180,000 robots have been shipped to American companies since 2010, and more than 1.2 million new manufacturing jobs have been created during this time."

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)
The Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. A3 is the umbrella group for Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA) and A3 Mexico. RIA, AIA, MCMA and A3 Mexico combined represent over 1,200 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, research groups and consulting firms from throughout the world that drive automation forward. For more information, visit: A3, RIA, AIA, MCMA, A3 Mexico.

The association hosts a number of industry-leading events, including the Autonomous Mobile Robot Conference (September 17, 2019 in Louisville, KY), the International Robot Safety Conference (October 15-17, 2019 in Indianapolis), the Collaborative Robots, Advanced Vision & AI Conference (CRAV.AI; November 12-13, 2019 in San Jose, CA), the A3 Business Forum (January 13-15, 2020 in Orlando, FL), and the biennial Automate Show & Conference (May 17-20, 2021 in Detroit).