North American Robot Orders Surge to Pre‑Pandemic Levels, Driving Growth Across Industries

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) announced that North American firms ordered 9,853 industrial robots worth $501 million in Q2 2021—up from 5,196 units in the same period of 2020 during the pandemic peak.

This uptick places the quarter among the top three highest robot sales on record. Over half of the units (5,530) were purchased outside the automotive sector, indicating a broader spread of automation across metals, semiconductors & electronics, plastics & rubber, food & consumer goods, and life sciences.

Jeff Burnstein, A3 president, said the pandemic accelerated companies’ realization of automation’s benefits. “By automating—whether first time or expanding existing systems—businesses are better positioned to navigate future disruptions,” Burnstein noted.

Sector‑specific growth was robust: plastics & rubber orders rose 51%, metals 99%, automotive components 85%, semiconductor & electronics/photonics 62%, food & consumer goods 51%, and life sciences/pharmaceutical/biomed 21%. Automotive OEMs saw a 49% increase.

Machine Vision Sees Record Growth

Alongside robotics, machine vision, motion control, and motor markets recorded record expansions in Q2 2021 versus Q2 2020. The North American machine vision market grew 26% to $764 million, setting a new peak. For the first half of 2021, the market reached $1.5 billion—an unprecedented start to the year.

Motion control and motors achieved $1.065 billion in shipments, 13% higher than Q2 2020, also a record. Motors, actuators, mechanical systems, and electronic drives led the gains.

Robot orders in North America returned to pre‑pandemic levels in Q2 2021, with plastics and rubber sales surging 51%.