A FANUC robot working in car manufacturing. FANUC is a Japanese world leader in robotics and factory automation. | Source: FANUC America
The latest numbers of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR’s) show automakers in the U.S. have been investing more in automation. The IFR said that total installations of industrial robots in the automotive industry increased by 10.7%, reaching 13,700 units in 2024. These are part of the organization’s preliminary 2024 results.
By contrast, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) reported earlier this year that U.S. automotive sales dropped 15% in 2024 compared to 2023. Alex Shikany, the executive vice president of A3, told The Robot Report earlier this year that he is optimistic robot orders will bounce back in the latter half of 2025.
Additionally, while the U.S. is installing more robots, it isn’t producing most of them. The majority of these robots come from overseas. Globally, 70% of installations are produced by four countries: Japan, China, Germany, and South Korea, the IFR said.
Looking ahead, it’s unclear how the current U.S. administration’s tariffs will affect installations. Nearshoring could mean an increase in automation, however, the tariffs could also result in more expensive robots produced overseas.
“The United States has one of the most automated car industries in the world: The ratio of robots to factory workers ranks fifth, tied with Japan and Germany and ahead of China,” says Takayuki Ito, president of the International Federation of Robotics. “This is a great achievement of modernization. However, in other key areas of manufacturing automation, the US lags behind its competitors.”
The automotive industry has, historically, been the largest buyer of robots. | Source: IFR
China also has strong automation in the automotive industry
Within the four countries producing the most robots, the IFR said Chinese manufacturers are the most dynamic. Already, these manufacturers produce robots for a huge domestic market that more than tripled from 2019 to 2023. This puts them in second place after Japan.
The IFR said China’s success is based on its national robotics strategy. Its manufacturing industry installed a total of about 280,000 units per year between 2021 and 2023. This is compared to a total of 34,300 installations in the United States in 2024.
Additionally, in China, robotics and automation are penetrating all levels of production. For example, China has a high robot density of 470 robots per 10,000 employees in manufacturing, the third highest in the world, surpassing Germany and Japan in 2023.
The United States, on the other hand, ranks only tenth among the world’s most automated manufacturing countries, with a robot density of 295 robots per 10,000 employees. The country’s automation is heavily concentrated in the car sector: Around 40% of all new industrial robot installations in 2024 are in automotive.
This is followed by the metal and machinery industry with 3,800 units representing a market share of 11%. Installations in the US electrical and electronics industry have a market share of 9%, with 2,900 units sold.
A3 identified food and consumer goods, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and biomedical as some of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. for robotics. With food and consumer goods seeing a 65% growth in orders in 2024, and life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and biomedical growing by 46%.
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