Demand for robots has updated another record in U. S.
2023.02.11 08:29
Demand for robots has updated another record in U. S.
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – In the tightest labor market in decades, North American businesses used more robots than ever before last year, many of them for the construction of new factories for electric vehicles and batteries.
But near the end of the year, it appears that demand for robots has slowed down. This raises questions about how strong 2023 will be in the face of shifting household consumption patterns and rising interest rates created by central bankers to control high inflation.
According to data compiled by the Association for Advancing Automation, an industry group also known as A3, businesses in the United States ordered just over 44,100 robots in 2022, a new record and an increase of 11% from the previous year. The data indicate that the value of those machines was $2.38 billion, an increase of 18% from the previous year.
According to A3 President Jeff Burnstein, the “labor shortage doesn’t seem to be letting up.” With unemployment in the United States at its lowest level since 1969, many businesses see automation as a quick fix.
According to Burnstein, there was a clear slowdown in orders at the end of the year, which begs the question of how 2023 will develop. “The strength in the auto industry really helped the fourth quarter,” he said. Non-automotive” orders decreased, as we observed.
He continued, “The orders dropped in some segments probably played a role in a shift away from pandemic-era consumer behavior.” Companies like Amazon stopped building new warehouses, so it’s likely that they stopped or delayed buying new automation.”
It’s possible that issues with the supply chain skewed the results from last year as well. Burnstein said that during the COVID-19 health crisis, robot manufacturers saw some customers place additional orders just to make sure they would get some of what they needed.
Automakers and their suppliers, a group that has long led the way in the automation of U.S. factories, were responsible for more than half of last year’s orders.
According to Atlas Public Policy, a U.S. research organization that collaborates with automakers and environmental organizations, new plants for electric vehicles, batteries, and battery recycling have been announced since the beginning of 2021 at a cost of $160 billion.
The vast majority of the robots that were ordered last year will be used for material handling, which encompasses all aspects of the movement and handling of goods within warehouses and factories.
For instance, the task of packing and sealing boxes at the end of the assembly line was recently automated at Closure Systems International Inc.’s sprawling plant in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The company manufactures closures for food packages and soda bottles.
“Auditor” jobs come next. Because the machines at the Crawfordsville plant produce new caps at a rate that is faster than that of a machine gun, workers who are referred to as auditors currently sit in small booths along the line and constantly check that specifications are met.
According to Brad Bennett, the senior vice president of global operations for the company, “small robots will soon be installed in the booths to do the work of inspection.” He stated, “We won’t have to cut back on people.” These employees will switch jobs.
He asserted, “The new machines will assist in preventing what occurred during the pandemic.” We literally had 30% of the plant down during COVID because we couldn’t find a $15-an-hour worker.
