North America Robot Orders Soften After Record 2022
North American companies ordered fewer robots in the first quarter of 2023 than for the same period last year. According to the latest report from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), companies ordered 9,168 units valued at $597 million in Q1 2023, a 21% drop in total units and a 10% drop in value over the same quarter in 2022, which was the third-best quarter on record for North America.
Automotive customers accounted for 68% of all robot orders in Q1, with 5,659 robots purchased. During Q1, non-automotive orders in consumer goods, semiconductor & electronics, plastics & rubber, life sciences/pharmaceutical/biomedical, metals, and others purchased 3,519 robots, down 42% over Q1 2022.