ANN ARBOR, Mich., 6 March 2008. North American manufacturing companies ordered 24 percent more robots from North American robotics companies in 2007 than they did the previous year, reversing the declines of the previous year, according to analysts at the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Manufacturers ordered 15,856 robots worth $1.07 billion last year. Add in sales to companies outside North America, the totals rise to 17,261 robots billion, according to RIA figures.
The RIA estimates there are some 178,000 U.S. factory robots, placing the United States second to Japan in overall robot use, the RIA says, adding that more than 1 million robots are installed worldwide.
Most of 2007 growth was in sales to automotive manufacturers and their suppliers. This market accounted for 64 percent of orders, while overall robot sales in North America rose 43 percent.
"We're obviously very pleased to see strong growth in 2007, especially following the 30 percent decline in 2006," says Åke Lindqvist of ABB Robotics and chairman of the RIA statistics committee. "Orders to nonautomotive markets grew less than 1 percent and accounted for just 36 percent of all orders. The robotics industry's future expansion depends upon reaching more nonautomotive customers, and we still have a long way to go."
For more information contact the RIA online at www.roboticsonline.com. This article appeared 6 March in Vision Systems Design. Click here to read the original story.
