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Industrial robots global study: China to overtake EU and North America by 2017

By 2017 more industrial robots will be operating in China's production plants than in the European Union or North America. Operating unit numbers there will double from today's 200,000 to more than 400,000, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), Frankfurt, Germany, in its 2014 World Robot Statistics. To compare, in North America, numbers will rise to about 300,000, with 340,000 predicted for Europe's five largest economies.

China is already the world's largest market in the sale of industrial robots. The country has only 30 industrial robots per 10,000 employees in manufacturing industries. In North America, robotic density is five times higher than in China, where 40 percent of industrial robots are used for handling operations and 36 percent for welding. The automotive industry is by far the largest customer, purchasing 40 percent of all industrial robots in China.

Four out of five industrial robots in China are made by foreign manufacturers – most from Japan, North America, and Europe. However, more manufacturers are planning to build their own production lines in China.

The Chinese government is simultaneously pushing forward with robotic research. Once again the main partners are leading foreign robotic manufacturers.