The industrial robot market is facing a mixed picture over the coming years, with 2024 set to end on a challenging note. Global robot shipments are projected to decline by 0.2%, following a flat performance in 2023. Compared with our May 2024 forecast, we have revised our 2024 projections for overall shipments downward by 5.8%; from over 553,000 units to 521,328 units. Additionally, the expected growth for 2025 has been reduced by 0.7 percentage points. These revisions reflect weaker-than-anticipated sales to the automotive industry in the second half of 2024 within the US and Europe, along with continued sluggish demand in China. 未来几年,工业机器人市场将面临喜忧参半的局面,2024 年将以充满挑战的方式结束。继 2023 年表现平平之后,全球机器人出货量预计将下降 0.2%。与 2024 年 5 月的预测相比,我们已将 2024 年的整体出货量预测下调了 5.8%;从超过 553,000 辆增加到 521,328 辆。此外,2025 年的预期增长率已下调 0.7 个百分点。这些修正反映了 2024 年下半年美国和欧洲汽车行业的销售额弱于预期,以及中国需求持续低迷。 Despite these challenges, we expect a gradual recovery in 2025. This is driven by anticipated increases in machinery investments – as key economies lower interest rates – alongside a broader recovery in the global manufacturing sector. However, factors such as high inventory levels and weak order intake are likely to persist in many industry sectors. This could potentially dampen robot demand during the first half of 2025. We forecast that industrial robot shipments will return to growth rates of over 7% by 2026. 尽管存在这些挑战,我们预计 2025 年将逐步复苏。这是由于主要经济体降低利率,预期机械投资将增加,同时全球制造业将全面复苏。然而,高库存水平和疲软的订单量等因素可能会在许多行业领域持续存在。这可能会抑制 2025 年上半年的机器人需求。我们预测,到 2026 年,工业机器人出货量将恢复到 7% 以上的增长率。 预计到2025年,全球机器人出货量将达到548,000台 Market by Robot Type: Collaborative robots (cobots) stand out as a key growth area. We expect to see a 15.9% increase in shipments in 2024, despite the global economic slowdown. However, as competition increases, the price decline for cobots has been the most pronounced, resulting in a slower projected revenue growth rate of 11% during 2024. 协作机器人 (cobots) 是一个关键的增长领域。尽管全球经济放缓,我们预计 2024 年的出货量将增长 15.9%。然而,随着竞争的加剧,协作机器人的价格下降最为明显,导致 2024 年预计收入增长率将放缓至 11%。 SCARA robots are expected to see modest growth of 1.8% in 2024, fuelled by demand recovering in Asia’s semiconductor and electronics sectors. In contrast, other robot types will experience declines in shipments of 1-3% over the year, primarily due to challenges within the automotive and broader industrial sectors. 在亚洲半导体和电子行业需求复苏的推动下,预计 SCARA 机器人将在 2024 年实现 1.8% 的温和增长。相比之下,其他机器人类型的出货量将在一年内下降 1-3%,这主要是由于汽车和更广泛的工业部门面临的挑战。 Regional Market Dynamics: Americas: Robot shipments in the Americas are projected to contract by 6.6% in 2024, primarily due to sluggish demand from the automotive industry. Shipments in the electronics and metal sectors are also experiencing declines. While demand for robots in consumer-related sectors is growing, it is not enough to offset the downturn in other industries. However, the life sciences sector has been a bright spot, with strong growth in demand for robots used in pharmaceutical production and medical device assembly in the US. From 2024 to 2028, industrial robot shipments in the Americas are expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1%. After the double-digit growth seen in 2021 and 2022, it is expected that the market will stabilize and expand at a more moderate pace in the coming years. We anticipate the continued trend towards greater automation and US reshoring initiatives will support the growth of manufacturing and demand for robots in the region. Asia Pacific: In 2024, robot shipments in Asia Pacific are expected to increase by 2.3%, driven by a 3.3% increase in China and a 4.9% rise in the rest of APAC (excluding Japan and South Korea). The Indian manufacturing industry continues to experience strong growth in 2024, spurred on by government investments in infrastructure. Industrial robots are rapidly gaining traction in India. The robot market in Taiwan and Southeast Asia is also seeing steady growth, fuelled by recovery of the semiconductor industry. |