ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
region ´ s total installations . It is followed by Mexico with 9 % and Canada with 7 %. New installations in the United States slowed down by 8 % in 2020 . The IFR expected robot installations to grow by 17 % in 2021 . A ‘ postcrisis boom ’, it added , will create additional growth at low double-digit rates in 2022 and beyond .
Robot density nearly doubled globally reduces the share of rejects , lowering the carbon footprint by improving input-output ratios . Third , robot manufacturers play a crucial role in further reducing the overall energy consumption of production systems , by designing energy-efficient units and end-of-arm tools ,” continued Guerry .
Global robot installations were expected by the IFR to rebound strongly and grow by 13 % to 435,000 units in 2021 . Installations in North America were expected to increase by 17 % to almost 43,000 units . Installations in Europe were expected to grow by 8 % to almost 73,000 units . Robot installations in Asia were expected to exceed the 300,000-unit mark and add 15 % to the previous year ’ s result . Almost all south-east Asian markets were expected to grow by double-digit rates in 2021 .
Asia remains the world ’ s largest market for industrial robots . 71 % of all newly deployed robots in 2020 were installed in Asia ( 2019 : 67 %). Installations for the region ´ s largest adopter , China , grew strongly by 20 % with 168,400 units shipped . This is the highest value ever recorded for a single country .
According to the IFR , Japan remained second to China in 2020 as the largest market for industrial robots , although the Japanese economy was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic . Sales declined by 23 % in 2020 with 38,653 units installed although the Japanese robotics market was expected to grow by 7 % in 2021 and continue to rise by 5 % in 2022 .
“ The Republic of Korea was the fourth largest robot market , in terms of annual installations , following Japan , China and the U . S . Robot installations decreased by 7 % to 30,506 units in 2020 . An investment support programme launched in May 2021 will further boost investment in machinery and equipment . The demand for robots from the electronics industry , as well as from the automotive suppliers , is expected to grow substantially by 11 % in 2021 and by 8 % annually on average in the following few years ,” commented the IFR .
Germany , which belongs to the five major robot markets in the world ( China , Japan , USA , Korea , Germany ) had a share of 33 % of the total installations in Europe . Italy followed with 13 % and France with 8 %. The number of installed robots in Germany remained at about 22,300 units in 2020 . This is the third highest installation count ever - a remarkable result given the pandemic situation that dominated 2020 .
In the United Kingdom , industrial robot installations were up by 8 % to 2,205 units in 2020 . The automotive industry rose by 16 % to 875 units , representing 40 % of the installations in the UK . The food and beverage industry almost doubled their installations from 155 units in 2019 to 304 units in 2020 (+ 96 %).
The USA is the largest industrial robot user in the Americas , with a share of 79 % of the
The use of industrial robots in factories around the world is accelerating at a high rate : 126 robots per 10,000 employees is the new average of global robot density in the manufacturing industries – nearly double the number five years ago ( 2015 : 66 units ). This is according to the 2021 World Robot Report .
By region , the average robot density in Asia / Australia is 134 units , in Europe 123 units and in the Americas 111 units . The top five most automated countries in the world are : South Korea , Singapore , Japan , Germany and Sweden .
“ The development of robot density in China is the most dynamic worldwide . Due to the significant growth of robot installations , the density rate rose from
Robot-aided embossing ( ABB ).
49 units in 2015 to 246 units in 2020 . Asia is also the home of the country with the world ´ s highest robot density in the manufacturing industry : the Republic of Korea has held this position since 2010 . The country ’ s robot density exceeds the global average seven-fold ( 932 units per 10,000 workers ). Robot density had been increasing by 10 % on average each year since 2015 . With its globally recognised electronics industry and a distinct automotive
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