Industrial Automation: Who Leads the Robot Race?
Industrial Automation: Who Leads the Robot Race?
The advent of industrial robotics has triggered a wave of automation that is progressively sweeping across global industries. Countries that deploy these robots in great numbers are likely to increase their productivity and lower their costs of production.
With this in mind, the graphic above from our sponsor MSCI ranks the top countries by industrial robot installations.
Data and Highlights
This data was sourced from a 2022 report published by the International Federation of Robotics.
| Country | 2012 | 2015 | 2018 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇳 China | 23,000 | 69,000 | 115,000 | 268,000 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 29,000 | 35,000 | 55,000 | 47,000 |
| 🇺🇸 U.S. | 22,000 | 28,000 | 40,000 | 35,000 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 19,000 | 38,000 | 38,000 | 31,000 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 18,000 | 20,000 | 27,000 | 24,000 |
| 🌍 Rest of World | 48,000 | 64,000 | 108,000 | 112,000 |
It may not be surprising that China leads the world in industrial automation, given its prowess in mass production. In fact, in 2021, China installed more industrial robots than all other countries in the world combined.
According to the IFR report, 56% of the robots that China installed in 2021 were deployed in automotive or electronics-related industries. The same trend can be seen in Japan, with 53% of its 2021 installations also being in those two industries.
America’s installations were more evenly distributed, with 36% dedicated to automotive and electronics. Other major sectors were metals and machinery (11%), plastics and chemicals (10%), and food (10%).
Robotics for the Future
Falling birth rates and the aging of the baby boomer generation suggest that many of the world’s biggest economies will eventually experience labor shortages. This is evidenced by the constrictive population pyramids of Japan, the U.S., Europe, and even China.
The IFR believes that robotics can help to solve this problem, not just in manufacturing, but also in critical industries like agriculture and healthcare.
For example, robotics are expected to become more common in the surgery room, where they can perform intricate procedures with the help of artificial intelligence. The market for surgical robots is expected to reach over $20 billion by 2030, up from $4.4 billion in 2020.
Given the vast array of use cases, robotics and AI are two technologies that could rapidly transform our world over the coming decades. Investors can gain insight with the MSCI ACWI IMI Robotics & AI Index, which benchmarks an investable universe of companies associated with automation.
Explore the MSCI ACWI IMI Robotics & AI Index now
-
Technology4 days agoRanked: The World’s Most Innovative Countries in 2024
We visualized the results of WIPO’s GII 2024 to highlight the world’s most innovative countries in 2024.
-
Technology5 days agoThe World’s Most Valuable Unicorns in 2024
TikTok developer ByteDance tops the ranking with a valuation exceeding $225 billion.
-
Gen Z1 week agoCharted: Gen Z’s Favorite Digital Entertainment
Over 95% of U.S. Gen Z watch videos online. What other digital entertainment activities does this generation engage in?
-
Stocks1 week agoStock Comparison: Magnificent 7 vs. 2000s Tech Bubble
We visualized key stock metrics to see how the Magnificent 7 compares to seven of the top stocks from the 2000s tech bubble.
-
Technology2 weeks agoWhich Universities Produce the Most Startup Founders?
Stanford University ranked first among graduates schools, with over 4,000 startup founders having attended one of its graduate programs.
-
United States2 weeks agoCharted: How American Tech Workers Feel About Joining a Union
The last few years have seen mass layoffs at Google, Amazon, and Tesla. Has this impacted how tech workers feel about unions?
