North American robot orders in the second quarter were up 57% over a year earlier, an indication of a return to pre-pandemic demand for automation, according to the Association for Advancing Automation.
Companies in North American ordered 9,853 robots, with a value of $500 million in the second quarter, up from 5,196 robots in the second quarter of 2020, the peak of the pandemic.
The second quarter was the third-highest quarter for robot units sold. More than half of the orders during the second quarter came from non-automotive customers, such as metals, semiconductors and electronics, plastics and rubber, food and consumer goods and life sciences. Robot orders are up 40% for the year as of mid-year.
Jeff Burnstein, president of A3, said the pandemic has helped more industries realize the benefits of robotics and other forms of advanced technologies. “The revitalization of automation we’re seeing across myriad industries is extremely encouraging,” Burnstein said in a statement.
In May, A3 reported North American Robot Orders had climbed by 20% over 2020.
For the first half of 2021, the North American machine vision market also grew 18% to $1.5 billion, A3 said.
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