Robot Boom: World's Factory Fleet Tops 5 Million as China Surges
The operational fleet grew 9% year on year, while worldwide installations climbed 11% to more than 600,000 units.
China dominated, lifting annual installations 20% to 354,000 units, or 59% of global deployment. Domestic firms captured 55% of its market.
Japan dropped from second place after installations fell 19% to 36,219 units. The US took the spot with a 12% jump to 38,500. South Korea held fourth at 30,200, followed by Germany, down 8% to 24,800. India gained 15% to 10,500. Germany accounted for 41% of EU installations, while Italy, France and Spain contracted.
Demand is forecast to reach 655,000 installations this year and 806,000 by 2029. Drivers include labor shortages in advanced economies, supply chain reshoring and AI technologies that cut deployment costs for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Türkiye ranked 17th in the global market, with installations down 9% to 3,194 units from a record 4,429 in 2023. Its operational stock rose 7% to a record 30,990 units, placing it 15th worldwide.
The metal industry stayed the top buyer: installations rose 8% to 990 units, a 31% share, with 6,774 robots in service. The auto sector's inventory grew 3% to 889 units, 28% of new installations, with 11,017 active units. Electrical/electronics installations fell 37% to 136 units, and food, beverages and tobacco plunged 40% to 144.
Globally, 59% of new robots went to handling and machine tending and 16% to welding and soldering. Density remains low at 52 units per 10,000 manufacturing workers, versus 374 in the auto sector and 35 in other industries.
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