Competing sales reports for industrial robotics

Research and Markets, an online market research store, is offering a new $3,000 report, Global and Chinese Automotive Industrial Robotics Industry Report 2013-2014, with figures that differ sharply from the data provided by the International Federation of Robotics.

Excerpts from the Research and Markets report:

• Global industrial robotics market valued around $11.1 billion in 2012 but slumped by 17% to $9.25 billion in 2013.
• In 2013, global shipment of industrial robotics rose by 2%.
• Japan’s industrial robotics shipments fell by 7.3%.
• The average selling price of robots in Japan dropped from $47,200 in 2012 to $45,200 in 2013.
• The global industrial robotics market is expected to increase by 3.5% to $9.6 billion in 2014.
• Welding robots account for 50% of all sales.
• 50% of China’s demand for robots is for the auto industry and related parts.
• Globally 36% of demand is for the auto industry.

Excerpts from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) report:

• Industrial robotics sales in 2012 were $8.7 billion.
• Those figures do not include the cost of software, peripherals and systems engineering.
• If included, it would bring the value to be approximately three times as high, or $26 billion.
• No information is presently available for 2013, however, the IFR estimated that sales will increase about 2% in units for 2013.
• From 2014 to 2016, robot installations are estimated to increase by 6% on average per year (CAGR): about 4% in the Americas and in Europe, and about 8% in Asia/Australia.
• In China, the huge amount of robot investments between 2006 and 2012 resulted in a substantial increase in the robot density of the automotive industry: up from 51 to 213 robots per 10,000 employees.
• Potential for robot installations in the non-automotive industries is still tremendous, but it is also considerably high in the automotive industry among the emerging markets and in some traditional markets as well. This is mostly due to the modernization and retooling needed in these markets.

Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.

Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.