Electrical Equipment / Components & Telecoms

In the first nine months of this year, North American companies added a record number of robot equipment, mainly due to insufficient labor and companies busy speeding up assembly lines to meet strong market demand.

u3000u3000According to data compiled by the Advanced Automation Association, manufacturing plants and other large-scale industrial groups ordered 29,000 robots in the first nine months, an increase of 37% over the same period last year, and their value reached US$1.48 billion. This figure exceeds the highest level set in the same period in 2017.

u3000u3000 It is understood that one of the reasons for rushing to buy more robots is that companies do not want to miss the strong market demand growth. In some cases, strong demand has led to shortages of key commodities. At the same time, many companies have been trying to attract workers who have been forced to be laid off due to the new crown epidemic, and see robots as an alternative to increasing manpower on the assembly line.

u3000u3000 "Companies can't hire the people they need-that's why they are racing to pursue automated robots." said Jeff Burnstein, chairman of the Advanced Automation Association.

u3000u3000 It is understood that robots have entered more areas of economic development. Automobile manufacturers have purchased a large number of industrial robots for a long time, but in 2020, the total sales of robots in other industries surpassed the automotive industry for the first time, and this trend is continuing this year. Statistics from A3 show that in the first nine months of this year, the number of orders for auto-related robots has increased by 20% to 12,544 units, and the number of orders for robots purchased by the non-automotive industry has increased by 53% to 16,355 units.

u3000u3000 Burnstein said: "This is not because of the slowdown in purchases in the automotive industry, but because other industries from metals to food manufacturers are growing even faster."

u3000u3000 Athena Manufacturing manufactures metal parts for a manufacturer in Austin, Texas. It currently has 7 robotic devices, 4 of which were installed this year. The company purchased the first robotic device in 2016. Company principal John Newman said that robots helped Athena cope with the surge in demand, where orders for parts and components used by semiconductor equipment manufacturers increased by 50%.

u3000u3000 He also said that these robots allowed the struggling Athena to achieve 24-hour operation for the first time last year. “The company has 250 employees, but it is difficult to find staff or recruit new people to fill the unpopular night shift.”