According to the IFR, annual sales of industrial robots have risen by 114% in the last five years (2013-2017). The sales value climbed by 21 percent to a new high of 16.2 billion US dollars compared to 2016. "Industrial robots play a key role in the progress of the manufacturing industry," says Junji Tsuda, President of the International Federation of Robotics. "Robots are being further developed with numerous cutting-edge technologies. These include machine vision, skill learning, error prediction using AI, new concepts of human-machine collaboration, simple programming and many others." The IFR expects the annual number of industrial robots delivered to the world's factories to reach around 630,000 units in 2021.

The five most important markets
73% of total sales of industrial robots in 2017 were generated in five main markets: China, Japan, South Korea, the USA and Germany.

China significantly expanded its leading position as the country with the highest demand, with a market share of 36% of global deliveries in 2017. With sales of around 138,000 industrial robots (2016-2017: +59%), the country's sales volume exceeded that of Europe and America combined (112,400 units).

Foreign robot suppliers increased their sales by 72% to 103,200 units. This also includes robots produced locally by international manufacturers in China. For the first time, foreign robot suppliers achieved a higher growth rate than Chinese manufacturers in 2017. The domestic market share of Chinese robot manufacturers fell from 31% in 2016 to 25% in 2017.

Japan is the world's leading country in the production of industrial robots. Nippon's manufacturers supplied 56% of the global delivery volume in 2017. The export quota rose by 45% (2016-2017) - the target markets for Japanese manufacturers were North America, China, South Korea and Europe. Robot sales in Japan rose by 18% to 45,566 units - the second-highest figure ever achieved in Japan. Only in 2000 were more robots sold, at 46,986 units.

South Korea's manufacturing industry has by far the highest robot density in the world - more than eight times the global average. In 2017, however, robot sales fell by 4 percent to 39,732 units. The main driver of this development was the electrical/electronics industry - robot installations in this sector fell by 18% in 2017. In the previous year, installations of industrial robots had peaked at 41,373 units.

Robot installations in the US rose to a new high for the seventh consecutive year in 2017, reaching 33,192 units. Since 2010, the trend towards automation of production has been a persistent growth driver in all US manufacturing industries. The goal of this automation investment is to strengthen US industries in both the domestic and global markets.

Germany is the fifth largest robot market in the world and number one in Europe. In 2017, the number of robots sold rose by 7% to a new all-time record of 21,404 units (2016: 20,074 units). Between 2014 and 2016, annual sales of industrial robots had stagnated at around 20,000 units.

Robot use by industry
With a market share of 33% of total deliveries in 2017, the automotive industry continues to generate the highest demand for robots worldwide. Sales increased by 22%. In the future, car manufacturers will also invest in collaborative applications for final assembly and finishing. Second-tier automotive suppliers - including many small and medium-sized companies - are switching to full automation less quickly. However, this is expected to change as robots become smaller, more flexible, easier to program and less expensive.

The electrical/electronics industry has caught up: sales rose by 33% to a new high of 121,300 units - this corresponds to a 32% share of total supply in 2017. The increase is due to rising demand for electronic products and the growing need for batteries, chips and displays.

The metal industry (including industrial machinery, metal products and base metal industry) is on the upswing. The market share reached ten percent of the global sales volume of industrial robots with an exceptional sales growth of 55 percent in 2017. Analysts are forecasting growth in demand for metals in 2018. Large metal companies and manufacturers of metal products are currently implementing Industry 4.0 strategies for automation and are also relying on robotics.

Degree of automation according to robot density

Worldwide, the new average global robot density in the manufacturing industry has risen to 85 units per 10,000 employees (2016: 74 units). Broken down by region, the average robot density in Europe is 106 units, in America 91 and in Asia 75 units. as