When sales to companies outside North America are included, North American robot suppliers saw overall increases of 2 percent in units and revenues.
"We’re encouraged that robot orders rose last year, given the extremely difficult environment for all capital equipment industries," says Donald A. Vincent, executive vice president of RIA. "We hope this means that the worst is behind us, but the continued weakness in the U.S. economy combined with news of the war in Iraq makes it very difficult to know what will happen in 2003.