More Than 4 Million Robots Are Working in Factories Worldwide

(Bloomberg) — Annual installations of robots in the world’s factories exceeded half a million for the third straight year, pushing the total to 4.3 million at the end of 2023, according to the International Federation of Robotics.

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The World Robotics Report found that about 70% of the newly deployed robots were in Asia, 17% in Europe and 10% in the Americas, mostly in the U.S.

After a rapid post-pandemic rebound in automation, last year saw a slowdown in some of the countries that have led the drive, according to the report. Annual installations were down by 5% in China compared with 2022, though the country still installed more than half of the world’s new industrial robots.

In the US, efforts to reshore production have led to a pickup in installations during the past few years, though the number for 2023 was slightly down from the prior year — as it also was in Japan and Korea.

Germany was the only one of the top five automation countries where robot installations accelerated last year compared with 2022. The second- and third-biggest European markets, Italy and France, both posted declines.

“The war in Ukraine, tight monetary policy and the relative weakness of the European automotive industry compared to China’s are dampening investment,” the report said.

Even countries with very deep pools of labor are turning to robots. Installations in India increased by 59% to a record 8,510 units last year, led by demand from the automotive industry.

The country’s stock of robots “has almost doubled since 2018,” said Marina Bill, president of the International Federation of Robotics. “India is one of the strongest growing economies among the Asian emerging markets.”