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 are forecast to more than double, from 182,000 to almost 428,000. For comparison, North America had 237,000 at the end of 2014, a number that will increase to about 291,000. That’s according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) in their latest World Robot Statistics.
China is already the world’s largest market for industrial robots when measured by annual sales, with 50,000 units shipped in 2014 – compared to 46,000 for the whole of Europe and 31,500 for North America. With vast numbers of robots being added to its factories each year, it will soon catch up in terms of operational stock numbers too.