United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market By Vehicle Type (Tow Vehicle, Unit Load Carrier, Pallet Truck, Forklift Truck, Hybrid Vehicles, Others), By Navigation Technology (Laser Guidance, Magnetic Guidance, Vision Guidance, Inductive Guidance, Natural Navigation, Others), By Application (Logistics and Warehousing, Assembly, Packaging, Trailer Loading and Unloading, Raw Material Handling, Others), By Component (Hardware, Software, Service), By Battery Type (Lead Battery, Lithium-Ion Battery, Nickel-based Battery, Others), By Region, Competition, Forecast and Opportunities, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 1.56 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	10.44%
Fastest Growing Segment	Forklift Truck
Largest Market	Midwest
Market Size (2031)	USD 2.83 Billion

Market Overview

The United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market will grow from USD 1.56 Billion in 2025 to USD 2.83 Billion by 2031 at a 10.44% CAGR. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are mobile robots utilized to transport materials within industrial facilities by navigating via marked lines, wires, or autonomous guidance technologies. The primary drivers supporting the United States market include the urgent need to mitigate labor shortages and the requirement for efficient material handling to sustain the growing e-commerce sector. These factors compel companies to seek reliable alternatives to manual transport for maintaining high throughput. According to the '2025 MHI Annual Industry Report', 45% of supply chain professionals plan to purchase automation equipment, including automated guided vehicles, within the next three years to optimize their operations. This data indicates a robust commitment to automation as a strategic response to operational demands.

However, a significant challenge impeding broader market expansion is the high initial capital investment required for system deployment. The costs associated with purchasing vehicles, integrating management software, and modifying facility infrastructure can be substantial, often creating a barrier to entry for small and medium-sized enterprises. Consequently, organizations with limited capital reserves may delay adoption despite the long-term efficiency gains, potentially slowing the overall penetration rate of AGV technology across the diverse United States industrial landscape.

Key Market Drivers

Escalating labor shortages and rising workforce costs are fundamentally reshaping the market, as industrial operators deploy automated solutions to bridge the gap between personnel availability and operational requirements. With manual material transport often representing a low-value utilization of human resources, facilities are pivoting toward Automated Guided Vehicles to mitigate the impact of wage inflation and high turnover rates. By automating repetitive hauling tasks, companies can reallocate scarce talent to higher-value responsibilities, thereby maintaining productivity despite staffing constraints. According to Rockwell Automation, April 2024, in the '9th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report', attracting employees with the desired skill set ranked as the number one internal challenge for manufacturers, directly accelerating the strategic imperative for automation adoption to augment existing teams.

Concurrently, the rapid expansion of e-commerce and warehousing operations necessitates systems capable of managing variable order volumes with high precision. This surge in direct-to-consumer fulfillment drives the adoption of AGVs to optimize picking workflows and accelerate throughput in distribution centers without expanding the physical footprint. According to the Association for Advancing Automation, February 2025, in the 'North American Robotics Market Holds Steady in 2024' press release, robot orders from the food and consumer goods sector surged by 65% in 2024, highlighting the critical reliance on automation to meet modern consumption patterns. This specific demand contributes to broader market activity as diverse industries modernize their infrastructure. According to the International Federation of Robotics, in 2024, the United States manufacturing industry installed 37,587 industrial robots during the preceding year, underscoring the massive scale of this technological integration.

Download Free Sample Report

Key Market Challenges

The high initial capital investment required for system deployment serves as a substantial impediment to the growth of the United States Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) market. While automation offers long-term operational savings, the upfront expenditure for purchasing vehicles, integrating complex management software, and upgrading facility infrastructure is often prohibitive. This financial barrier is particularly acute for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which may lack the necessary liquidity to justify such large-scale expenditures. Consequently, these organizations often defer automation projects, prioritizing immediate working capital over the long-term efficiency gains that AGVs provide.

This sensitivity to deployment costs directly correlates with delayed market adoption rates across the industrial landscape. When capital becomes expensive or tax incentives for investment remain uncertain, manufacturers aggressively scale back their technology procurement. According to the 'National Association of Manufacturers', in '2025', '69.35% of manufacturers indicated they would delay purchasing capital equipment' if favorable tax provisions for investments were not maintained. This hesitation to commit funds for capital-intensive equipment like AGVs slows the overall penetration rate of the technology, effectively dampening market expansion despite the clear operational demand for automated material handling solutions.

Key Market Trends

The Proliferation of Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) Subscription Models is fundamentally altering the procurement landscape for United States automated guided vehicles. This business model shifts financial responsibility from significant upfront capital expenditure to manageable operational expenditure, allowing facilities to deploy automation without depleting liquid reserves. This accessibility is particularly crucial for small and mid-sized US manufacturers who previously found the financial barrier to entry insurmountable. According to Formic, January 2025, in the 'Formic Continues To Accelerate Robot Usage Growth in 2024' press release, the company recorded a 180% growth in market demand for its subscription-based automation solutions during the preceding year. This surge underscores a rapid market shift toward flexible, low-risk deployment structures that directly align automation costs with production activity.

The Integration of AI for Dynamic Fleet Management and Analytics is concurrently transforming AGVs from static transport units into intelligent, adaptive assets. Advanced algorithms now enable vehicles to optimize routing in real-time, predict mechanical failures before they occur, and synchronize movements within complex, mixed-fleet environments. This technological leap allows operators to maximize throughput and minimize downtime by leveraging data-driven insights rather than fixed programming. According to Rockwell Automation, June 2025, in the '10th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report', 95% of manufacturers have either invested in or plan to invest in artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies within the next five years. This overwhelming commitment indicates that AI-driven optimization is rapidly becoming a prerequisite for sustaining competitive advantage in modern material handling operations.

Segmental Insights

The Forklift Truck segment is identified as the fastest-growing category within the United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market. This expansion is primarily driven by the rising demand for automation in logistics to mitigate labor shortages and operational costs. Additionally, stringent safety standards maintained by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) incentivize the adoption of automated forklifts to reduce high accident rates associated with manual operation. These vehicles efficiently manage heavy repetitive tasks, establishing them as a critical investment for facilities seeking to improve safety compliance and material handling efficiency.

Regional Insights

The Midwest region holds a dominant share of the United States Automated Guided Vehicle market, driven primarily by its dense concentration of automotive manufacturing and heavy industrial facilities. States such as Michigan and Ohio serve as central hubs for major automotive producers that rely heavily on automated material handling to support assembly operations. This strong industrial base creates a sustained demand for automated vehicles to enhance logistics efficiency and manage supply chains. Additionally, the need to mitigate labor shortages in these established manufacturing centers further accelerates the adoption of automation technologies across the region.

Recent Developments

• In August 2025, Oceaneering Mobile Robotics introduced a suite of advanced autonomy features for its fleet of autonomous counterbalance forklifts and material handling vehicles. The update included capabilities such as elevated obstacle detection and automatic pallet tracking, which were developed to mitigate risks associated with overhead hazards and misaligned loads. The company announced that these software enhancements allow their vehicles to operate with greater independence and safety in dynamic United States industrial environments. This technological advancement aims to support high-throughput operations by reducing the need for manual intervention and minimizing equipment downtime.
• In November 2024, Seegrid Corporation unveiled the Tow Tractor S7, a new autonomous mobile robot designed to modernize material handling in United States manufacturing and warehousing facilities. The vehicle is equipped with proprietary vision technology that enables precise 3D mapping and navigation without the need for external infrastructure such as wires or magnets. Seegrid stated that the Tow Tractor S7 features enhanced human-in-the-loop training capabilities, allowing it to adapt to dynamic environments and layout changes. The launch was positioned as a key development to improve safety and productivity in complex industrial workflows.
• In March 2024, The Raymond Corporation expanded its portfolio of automated solutions with the launch of the Raymond Courier 3030 Automated Stacker. Introduced to address labor shortages in the United States logistics and warehousing sectors, this new automated guided vehicle features advanced vision-guided technology and 3D lidar for improved object detection. The company highlighted that the vehicle is designed with a low-clearance arch to operate under overhanging structures like conveyors, and it offers increased travel speeds to boost throughput. The launch at the MODEX trade show emphasized the company's commitment to providing flexible automation that requires no significant facility infrastructure modifications.
• In March 2024, OTTO Motors, a division of Rockwell Automation, announced the establishment of a new category termed "autonomous production logistics" during a major industry exhibition in Atlanta. Following its acquisition, the company showcased integrated solutions that combine autonomous mobile robots with industrial automation technologies to create end-to-end manufacturing workflows. Rockwell Automation stated that this unification aims to optimize United States production facilities by seamlessly connecting material handling with production processes. The development was presented as a comprehensive strategy to enhance factory connectivity and operational efficiency in response to increasing demand for smart manufacturing.

Key Market Players

• Daifuku Co., Ltd.
• Dematic Corporation
• KION Group Inc
• Toyota Industries Corporation
• KUKA Inc
• Swisslog Holding Inc
• John Bean Technologies Corporation
• Murata Machinery, Ltd.
• SSI SCHAEFER Inc.
• Bastian Solutions, LLC

By Vehicle Type	By Navigation Technology	By Application	By Component	By Battery Type	By Region
Tow Vehicle Unit Load Carrier Pallet Truck Forklift Truck Hybrid Vehicles Others	Laser Guidance Magnetic Guidance Vision Guidance Inductive Guidance Natural Navigation Others	Logistics and Warehousing Assembly Packaging Trailer Loading and Unloading Raw Material Handling Others	Hardware Software Service	Lead Battery Lithium-Ion Battery Nickel-based Battery Others	Northeast Midwest South West

Report Scope:

In this report, the United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market, By Vehicle Type:

• Tow Vehicle
• Unit Load Carrier
• Pallet Truck
• Forklift Truck
• Hybrid Vehicles
• Others

• United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market, By Navigation Technology:

• Laser Guidance
• Magnetic Guidance
• Vision Guidance
• Inductive Guidance
• Natural Navigation
• Others

• United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market, By Application:

• Logistics and Warehousing
• Assembly
• Packaging
• Trailer Loading and Unloading
• Raw Material Handling
• Others

• United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market, By Component:

• Hardware
• Software
• Service

• United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market, By Battery Type:

• Lead Battery
• Lithium-Ion Battery
• Nickel-based Battery
• Others

• United States Automated Guided Vehicle Market, By Region:

• Northeast
• Midwest
• South
• West