Global industrial robots revenue is expected to rally in 2025, with YoY growth forecast out to 2029A significant slump in the global industrial robots industry in 2023 continued throughout 2024, with revenue declining 5.8% year-on-year, according to
Interact Analysis. The latest report from the market intelligence specialist suggests this was due to sluggish demand caused by a dip in manufacturing activity over the year, coupled with a decrease in average prices. With the manufacturing industry facing a challenging year in 2024, stemming from high interest rates in western markets and subdued demand in Asia, investment in production slowed down across all major regions. In addition, fierce competition within the industrial robots market has considerably squeezed margins for robot manufacturers and many emerging brands have sacrificed profitability for market share.
However, there are signs that macroeconomies may slowly emerge from recession, which will result in the industrial robots industry gradually recovering in 2025. Europe, however, looks set to lag behind over the coming years, following a market contraction of 8.1% in 2024.
While the overall industrial robots market declined in 2024, performance across major regions varied. With a higher concentration of vendors and large-order volumes leading to robot prices lower than other major regions, the APAC region dominates the global industrial robots market. Interact Analysis predicts the APAC region will continue to grow steadily over time as demand for robots increases, while the Americas region will maintain its market position, as it is buoyed by US reshoring initiatives and the growing potential of Latin America. The long-term view for the EMEA region is not as positive, with the industrial robots market projected to grow at a slower CAGR compared to the other two regions over the next five years. Nevertheless, it will continue to be the second-largest market for industrial robots.
In terms of industry-specific performance, the automotive industry struggled in 2024 and demand for industrial robots also decreased in general manufacturing such as electronics, metals and plastics, and rubber. However, industrial robot demand in consumer-related industries, including food and beverage and life sciences industries showed more resilience.
Samantha Mou, research analyst at Interact Analysis, said: “In 2024, the industrial robot market continued its decline from the 2023 slump. However, we anticipate a gradual recovery of the robotics market across all three major regions in 2025, with stronger growth expected in 2026. In the Americas and Asia, market sentiment is showing signs of improvement, and there are encouraging indications that the macroeconomy may slowly emerge from the recession. However, in Europe, recovery signs remain weak and our growth forecast for the EMEA region remains the lowest. Despite this, we expect the broader manufacturing sector in Europe to benefit from the global economic cycle.”