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Recently, the internationalrobotThe Federation of Federation (IFR) released a report showing that the North American robot market will grow strongly in 2022, and the manufacturing industry willIndustrial robotThe total installed capacity reached 41,624 units, a year-on-year increase of 12%.

The automotive industry is the main application area for Industrial Robots. Companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico installed a total of 20,391 industrial robots, an increase of 30% year-on-year in 2021.

Marina Bill, President of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), said: “North America is the world’s second largest Industrial Robot operation stock market after China, among which the United States, Canada and Mexico are the main application markets for the growth of Robotic automation, while the automotive industry is leading the way. status.”

In the U.S., demand from automakers and parts makers will grow by 48% in 2022, showing a cyclical demand pattern, rebounding after several years of contraction, down from a peak of 15,397 units in 2017 9,854 in 2021, before surging to 14,594 installations in 2022.

40% of industrial robots in Canada are installed in the automotive industry, so the number of installations largely depends on the investment in the automotive industry in that year. In 2022, its car sales will drop by 36%, so only 1,258 industrial robots in the automotive industry will be installed, which is a low figure. The level of 1897 units in 2019 before the new crown epidemic. Among them, the installation of industrial robots for auto parts dropped by 45% to only 995 units, while the sales of engines and complete vehicles increased by 99% to 263 units.

Mexico’s industrial robot installations, also determined by the 66% automotive sector, will grow by 16% to 4,222 units in 2022, the second-best result since a record peak of 4,805 units in 2017

In addition, in the non-automotive industry, other industries with more than 4,000 industrial robots installed in the North American market include: the electrical and electronic industry, which increased by 28%; the metal and machinery industry, which decreased by 9%; and the plastics and chemical products industry, which decreased by 4%. %, these industries each account for a 9% market share of industrial robot installations in 2022.

The demand for industrial robots in the United States expands

In 2022, the demand for industrial robots in the U.S. auto industry will increase significantly. According to the American Association for Advanced Automation, more than half of the orders last year came from car companies. Investment in electric vehicles, batteries and recycling plants has reached $160 billion.

The most direct reason for the large purchase of robots is that the shortage of labor in the United States has become increasingly serious. In the past year, the unemployment rate in the United States has continued to decline. In the latest non-agricultural data for January, the unemployment rate has reached the lowest point since 1969. .

Jeff Bernstein, president of the Advanced Automation Association of the United States, said that the labor shortage in the market does not seem to be easing. In the face of the lowest unemployment rate since 1969, many companies regard automation as a quick solution to the problem. Concerned about supply chain issues before, some companies placed additional orders in order to ensure that they could get what they needed.

The impact of the new crown epidemic on the U.S. labor market is greater than expected, and the duration is longer than expected. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, as of December 2022, the number of non-agricultural job vacancies in the U.S. has reached 11.012 million, and the job vacancy rate has reached 6.7%, it is clear that the labor gap in the United States is already serious.

The persistent labor shortage has caused U.S. wages to soar. According to data from the Department of Labor, U.S. labor costs will jump by 5.7% in 2022, the largest annual increase since 1982. Labor shortages and rising labor costs have forced companies to consider Use robots to replace workers.

In fact, the number of robots currently used in the United States is not too high. Its manufacturing robot density is only 274 units, which is lower than China’s 322 units and ranks ninth in the world. This may surprise many people’s expectations, but it is also On the one hand, it also shows that the robot market in the United States still has a lot of room for growth, and this continuous labor shortage may be an opportunity.