The pace of robotics installation worldwide cooled off in 2015 amid a slowing Chinese economy but still hit an all-time high as automation reshapes manufacturing processes, according to a new report.
Supply of industrial robots rose 12% to 248,000 in 2015, compared to a year earlier, according to a International Federation of Robotics report released Wednesday. The uptick was down from a 24% increase in 2014 to 221,000 robots.
A trend toward more flexible manufacturing processes, emphases on quality and sustainability, rising demand for consumer goods and increasing digitization of the factory fueled the trend, IFR reported.
The report estimates that the world will have 2.3 million industrial robots in operation in 2018, up from about 1.5 million in 2014 and just over 1 million in 2010.
"Jobs in the factory will change. Workers will be freed from repetitive routine tasks," IFR President Joe Gemma said in a presentation he planned to give Wednesday in Munich. "Workers will focus on jobs that require judgment, common sense, creativity, problem-solving skills and dexterity."
Still, the report suggests that the world has a long way to go on automation. Five markets — the U.S., China, South Korea, Japan and Germany — have 75% of industrial robots worldwide.
China is the perennial leader in adoption of industrial robots, having installed 66,700 in 2015, representing a 17% increase. The country's adoption of industrial robots rose 56% in 2014. The dropoff reflected a downturn in China's economic growth amid swelling debt and stock market volatility.
The automotive industry was the leader in adoption of industrial robotics in 2015, by a long shot. Auto companies installed 95,000 robots, more than the 53,300 for the electronics business and 34,600 for the metals business.
Rubber and plastics companies installed 21,200, food companies installed 7,200, and pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies installed 2,100. Others installed 34,600.
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