DETROIT—Propelled by a surge in demand from non-automotive manufacturing sectors, sales of industrial robots in North America set a new record in 2021, totaling $2 billion, a 14 percent increase over the previous high in 2017, according to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3).
Some 39,708 robots were sold in North America last year, a 28 percent over 2020. Record robot sales in the fourth quarter of the year—up 9 percent over the fourth quarter of 2020—demonstrated the strong momentum already realized through the previous nine months, as more industries look to automation to increase productivity and alleviate ongoing labor shortages.