FRANKFURT, Germany—The World Robotics 2020 Industrial Robots report presented by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) shows a record of 2.7 million industrial robots operating in factories around the world. This amount represents an increase of 12 percent from 2019. Sales of new robots remain on a high level with 373,000 units shipped globally in 2019. This is 12 percent less compared to 2018, but still the third highest sales volume ever recorded.

“The stock of industrial robots operating in factories around the world today marks the highest level in history,” says Milton Guerry, President of the International Federation of Robotics. “Driven by the success story of smart production and automation this is a worldwide increase of about 85% within five years (2014-2019). The recent slowdown in sales by 12 percent reflects the difficult times the two main customer industries, automotive and electrical/electronics, have experienced.”