Industrial robot market to grow at 5 percent per year
As industrial robotics are used in new and alternative application areas in growing markets to meet increasing demand for automation, compound annual growth of over 5 percent is expected between 2013 and 2020, with the overall market growing from $26 billion in 2012 to over $41 billion in 2020.
The forecast comes in a new report by Allied Market Research, titled “Industrial Robotics Market (Products, Functions, Applications and Geography) – Global Analysis, Industry Growth, Trends, Size, Share, Opportunities and Forecast – 2013 – 2020″. The market was valued at $26.78 billion in 2012. Rapid growth in automation demands, coupled with reduction of duties on refurbished goods in Asia Pacific region has fuelled the growth of this market.
Key sectors include electronics, which is still growing at an increasing rate, and which has witnessed penetration of industrial robotics in a significant manner. Another key application where industrial robotics might find penetration is healthcare. Nanorobotics is gaining importance in the field of industrial robotics. It is gaining momentum in health care and other niche markets. Nanorobots help in mixing the right compound as per instructions and result in decreasing lead time, which in turn helps the company to meet the demand of these medicines from the consumer.
Among major robot types – including articulated robots, cylindrical robots, SCARA robots, and cartesian robots – articulated robots is the largest segment, accounting for $12.97 billion in 2012, owing to increasing usage of these robots currently in emerging industries such as packaging and healthcare sectors. However, cylindrical robots and other types of robots such as customized and refurbished robots are expected to grow at significant pace in the coming years due to their increasing demand in industrial sectors in Asia Pacific region. Cylindrical and other types of robots are estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% and 7.5%, respectively, over the forecasted period.
Based on industries served, the market is segmented into automotive industry, electrical and electronics, chemical, rubber and plastics, machinery, metals industry, food & beverages, precision & optics, etc. Among these, automotive industry segment dominated the market in 2012 at $7.37 billion. However, the segment is expected to witness low growth owing to slow down in the automotive industry. The food and beverages segment is expected to witness highest growth rate of 6.9% over the forecast period owing to rising food and beverages industry. Moreover, the rising need and customized solutions to make the process faster especially in unexplored regions such as Brazil, Argentina, and South Africa is expected to drive the growth in food and beverages industry.
On the basis of functions performed by such robots, the market is segmented into soldering and welding, materials handling, assembling and disassembling, painting and dispensing, cutting and processing, milling, and others. Materials handling is the largest segment by function in the industrial robotics market.
In 2012, Asia Pacific was the largest revenue generator that accounted for 49.45% of the total market share. The dominance of Asia Pacific is attributed to growth in number of countries such as China, India, Japan, Taiwan and Australia among others investing heavily in research and development infrastructure developments. Rapid growth in automation demands coupled with reduction of duties on refurbished goods has also fueled growth in the industrial robotics market. Similarly, North Americaand Europe collectively accounted for over one-third of the market share, as these regions have been continually focusing on research and development and have been using industrial robotics for the same.
