The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) announced on August 17th their latest quarterly report for automation and robotics trends, growth, and sales. Covering the first half of 2017, the report details several record-setting numbers in motor technology, motion control, machine vision, and robotics as a whole.
Comprised of three sister associates known as the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the advancing vision + Imaging Association (AIA), and the Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA) which represent 1,064 members combined, A3 advocates for the benefits of automation, promoting ideas and technology to drive the field of automation.
Starting in robotics, the research found the North American market had the best opening half ever in 2017, with new records in shipment revenue, shipment units, order revenue, and order units of 19,331 robots reaching $1.031 billion in sales. This is a 33% growth in units and a 26% growth in dollars compared to 2016, the highest levels ever recorded at the beginning of a year.
The trend is similar in motor and motion control products, with orders totaling $1.622 billion in the first half of 2017, a 14% increase from the first half of 2016 and shipments totaling $1.757 billion, a 10% increase from 2016. The machine vision market reported their best first half performance as well, with sales increasing 11% from 2016 and totaling $1.241 billion.
