Industrial Robotics Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, Segmented, By Application (Handling, Assembling & Disassembling, Welding & Soldering, Dispensing, Cleanroom, Processing, and Others), By End-Use (Automotive, Electronics, Metal & Heavy Machinery, Chemical, Rubber & Plastics, Food, and Others), By Region & Competition, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 19.89 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	10.91%
Fastest Growing Segment	Welding & Soldering
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 37.02 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Industrial Robotics Market will grow from USD 19.89 Billion in 2025 to USD 37.02 Billion by 2031 at a 10.91% CAGR. Industrial robots are defined as automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulators programmable in three or more axes, which can be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications. The market is primarily driven by the critical need to mitigate persistent labor shortages and the strategic shift toward reshoring manufacturing operations to ensure supply chain resilience. Furthermore, the intensified requirement for high-precision consistency in the automotive and electronics sectors continues to stimulate demand. According to the International Federation of Robotics, in 2024, global industrial robot installations reached 542,000 units, demonstrating sustained high-volume adoption across these key industries.

A significant challenge impeding broader market expansion is the substantial capital expenditure required for initial acquisition and system integration. This high upfront cost structure creates a distinct barrier to entry for small and medium-sized enterprises that often lack the financial liquidity to invest in complex automation cells. This economic hurdle is frequently compounded by the scarcity of a technically skilled workforce capable of programming and maintaining these systems, which can delay implementation projects where the return on investment is not immediately realized.

Key Market Drivers

The integration of artificial intelligence and machine vision is significantly propelling the market by enabling robots to perform complex tasks with autonomous decision-making capabilities. This technological evolution transitions robotics from repetitive execution to adaptive operation, allowing systems to recognize objects, optimize paths, and handle variations in real-time without constant human intervention. Such advancements are critical for manufacturers seeking to automate unstructured processes that were previously impossible for traditional programmed bots. According to Rockwell Automation, March 2024, in the '9th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report', 83% of manufacturers expect to deploy Generative AI in their operations in 2024. This rapid adoption indicates a fundamental shift where intelligent systems are becoming a prerequisite for operational efficiency in dynamic production environments.

Concurrently, the expansion of the market is heavily fueled by favorable government policies and the aggressive modernization of manufacturing infrastructure in major industrial economies. Nations are strategically increasing robot density to secure supply chains and maintain dominance in the automotive and electronics sectors. According to the International Federation of Robotics, September 2024, in the 'World Robotics 2024' report, China installed 276,288 industrial robots in 2023, accounting for 51% of the global market. While Asian markets drive volume through massive capacity expansion, western regions are focusing on retooling existing facilities; according to the Association for Advancing Automation, in April 2024, North American companies ordered 31,159 robots in 2023 to support these industrial upgrades.

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Key Market Challenges

The substantial capital expenditure required for industrial robotics acts as a formidable financial barrier, significantly restricting market access for small and medium-sized enterprises. While the initial purchase price of a robotic arm is considerable, the total cost of ownership is compounded by expenses for system integration, safety peripherals, and specialized programming. This heavy upfront burden forces companies to undergo rigorous return-on-investment calculations, often leading to the postponement of automation projects when immediate liquidity is unavailable. Consequently, the market experiences slower adoption rates in sectors dominated by cost-sensitive smaller manufacturers.

This economic constraint directly correlates with market contraction, as businesses delay capital-intensive upgrades during uncertain financial climates. The inability of smaller players to absorb these costs limits broad-based industry expansion and increases the market's vulnerability to economic downturns. Evidence of this slowdown is visible in key mature markets where investment caution is prevalent. According to the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association, in 2024, the robotics and automation sector in Germany recorded a 6% decline in turnover compared to the previous year. This contraction highlights how high investment thresholds actively hamper the sustained growth of the global industrial robotics market.

Key Market Trends

The emergence of humanoid robots for general-purpose industrial applications marks a transformative shift from static, task-specific automation to versatile, mobile workforces. Unlike traditional articulated arms that require structured environments and safety caging, these bipedal systems are engineered to navigate brownfield facilities designed for humans, utilizing existing aisles, stairs, and tools without necessitating expensive infrastructure redesigns. This human-centric form factor allows manufacturers to automate unstructured workflows, such as dynamic material handling and complex assembly, which were previously inaccessible to standard robotics. According to Figure AI, September 2025, in the press release 'Figure Exceeds $1B in Series C Funding', the company secured over $1 billion in committed capital to accelerate the manufacturing and commercial deployment of these general-purpose humanoid robots.

Simultaneously, the widespread adoption of collaborative robots is evolving beyond lightweight assembly to encompass high-payload tasks, effectively bridging the performance gap between safe human-robot interaction and heavy industrial applications. This trend is driven by the introduction of powerful cobots capable of palletizing heavy loads and welding while maintaining fenceless safety standards, thereby enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to automate demanding processes with a reduced physical footprint. The expanding versatility of these systems is driving significant market penetration; according to the International Federation of Robotics, December 2024, in the position paper 'Collaborative Robots', cobots reached a market share of 10.5% of all industrial robots installed worldwide, reflecting their growing integral role in modern production strategies.

Segmental Insights

The Welding and Soldering segment is currently recognized as the fastest growing category within the Global Industrial Robotics Market, driven by the critical need for precision and safety in the automotive and heavy manufacturing sectors. Manufacturers are increasingly adopting these automated solutions to ensure consistent structural integrity while mitigating human exposure to hazardous fumes and high temperatures. This shift is strongly supported by trends observed by the International Federation of Robotics, which indicate that automation is essential for addressing skilled labor shortages and maintaining high-volume production standards in complex industrial environments.

Regional Insights

North America stands as a leading region in the Global Industrial Robotics Market, characterized by the rapid adoption of advanced automation technologies in the United States and Canada. Data from the International Federation of Robotics indicates that this dominance is primarily driven by a strategic push toward reshoring manufacturing operations and the urgent need to mitigate ongoing labor shortages. The region prioritizes the integration of artificial intelligence and collaborative systems within the automotive and aerospace sectors to ensure production resilience. Consequently, North America maintains a strong market position through continuous technological innovation and high-value industrial applications.

Recent Developments

• In October 2024, Universal Robots launched the UR AI Accelerator, a hardware and software toolkit designed to enable the development of AI-powered collaborative robot applications. Powered by NVIDIA’s accelerated computing technology, the new system provided developers with the processing capabilities needed to implement advanced features such as object detection, pose estimation, and dynamic path planning. The toolkit aimed to reduce the complexity and time-to-market for deploying physical artificial intelligence in manufacturing environments. This innovation underscored the industry's move towards integrating sophisticated AI computing directly into robotic arms to enhance precision and versatility in the global industrial robotics market.
• In April 2024, Boston Dynamics unveiled a fully electric version of its Atlas humanoid robot, shortly after announcing the retirement of its hydraulic predecessor. The new electric Atlas was designed specifically for real-world commercial applications, featuring a broader range of motion, greater strength, and enhanced dexterity to manipulate heavy and irregular objects in industrial settings. Equipped with advanced machine learning and reinforcement learning capabilities, the robot was engineered to adapt to complex, unstructured environments found in modern factories. This product launch signified a major shift towards commercializing high-performance humanoid robotics for widespread deployment across the industrial automation sector.
• In March 2024, Siemens deepened its strategic collaboration with NVIDIA to advance the industrial metaverse by integrating immersive visualization capabilities into the Siemens Xcelerator platform. The partnership utilized new cloud-based application programming interfaces to connect physics-based digital models with real-time artificial intelligence, enabling the creation of high-fidelity digital twins. This integration allowed industrial customers to visualize complex product and manufacturing data with photorealistic accuracy, significantly accelerating design iterations and operational decision-making. The joint initiative highlighted the growing importance of combining generative AI and accelerated computing to optimize simulation and automation processes in the global industrial robotics market.
• In January 2024, Figure, a robotics company specializing in autonomous humanoids, secured a commercial agreement with BMW Manufacturing to deploy general-purpose robots at the automotive producer's facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The collaboration focused on integrating humanoid workers into the manufacturing process to automate tasks that are difficult, unsafe, or repetitive, thereby allowing human employees to concentrate on higher-value activities. The partnership outlined a milestone-based approach, beginning with the identification of specific use cases followed by a staged deployment of the robots. This development marked a significant step in the application of multi-purpose humanoid robotics within the global industrial manufacturing landscape.

Key Market Players

• ABB Limited
• FANUC Corporation
• Yaskawa Electric Corporation
• Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• DENSO Corporation
• KUKA AG
• OMRON Corporation
• HIRATA Corporation

By Application	By End-Use	By Region
Handling Assembling & Disassembling Welding & Soldering Dispensing Cleanroom Processing and Others	Automotive Electronics Metal & Heavy Machinery Chemical Rubber & Plastics Food and Others	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Industrial Robotics Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Industrial Robotics Market, By Application:

• Handling
• Assembling & Disassembling
• Welding & Soldering
• Dispensing
• Cleanroom
• Processing
• and Others

• Industrial Robotics Market, By End-Use:

• Automotive
• Electronics
• Metal & Heavy Machinery
• Chemical
• Rubber & Plastics
• Food
• and Others

• Industrial Robotics Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE