North American Robot Orders Up 4.3% in Units and 21.3% in Dollars in Q2 2026

en.Wedoany.com Reported - In the second quarter of 2026, North American companies ordered 8,940 robots valued at $622 million, representing a 4.3% increase in units and a 21.3% increase in dollar value year-over-year. These figures were released by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) on August 11.

Cumulatively, North American robot orders totaled 17,995 units valued at $1.166 billion in the first half of 2026, up 2.0% and 6.6% respectively compared to the same period in 2025.

First-half orders continued the trend of industry diversification seen in recent quarters. Robot orders from automotive OEMs fell 25% compared to the first half of 2025, but growth in automotive components and several general industry sectors offset this decline.

Year-over-year changes in order units by industry for the first half: semiconductor and electronics/photonics grew 35%, life sciences/pharmaceutical/biomedical grew 32%, automotive components grew 24%, food and consumer goods grew 17%, plastics and rubber grew 6%, metals grew 3%, and all other industries combined grew 6%.

In the second quarter, robot orders in several manufacturing sectors showed double-digit year-over-year growth. Semiconductor and electronics/photonics orders increased 38%, automotive components grew 20%, food and consumer goods grew 18%, metals grew 18%, and life sciences/pharmaceutical/biomedical grew 9%. Non-automotive customers accounted for 56% of total robot orders in the quarter.

Collaborative robots remain a significant component of automation investment. In the first half of 2026, collaborative robot orders totaled 2,774 units valued at $114 million, representing 15.4% of all robot orders and 9.8% of total order revenue, respectively. In the second quarter, 1,137 collaborative robots were ordered, valued at $44 million, accounting for 12.7% of quarterly orders and 7.1% of quarterly revenue.

Collaborative robot adoption was particularly notable in life sciences/pharmaceutical/biomedical and semiconductor and electronics/photonics, where collaborative robots accounted for 43.7% and 36.5% of robot orders in those sectors for the first half, respectively.

Alex Shikany, Executive Vice President of A3, stated that the first-half 2026 data reflects the continued structural evolution of the robot market: the automotive industry remains a significant driver of demand, while growth in more industries is emerging; not all sectors are performing uniformly, but the breadth of growth beyond automotive OEMs is a trend A3 will continue to track.

Regarding the manufacturing investment environment, the June manufacturing PMI remained in expansion territory for the sixth consecutive month, with continued growth in new orders and production; Federal Reserve data shows that manufacturing output in June was 1.1% higher than the same month last year. Despite lingering macroeconomic uncertainty, first-half data indicates that manufacturers continue to view automation as an investment direction for long-term competitiveness.

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) is an industry organization advocating for the adoption of automation technologies, with members including more than 1,450 manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, academic institutions, research groups, and consulting firms.

The quarterly year-over-year growth rates above are calculated based on a consistent reporting cohort, while first-half comparative data is calculated based on aggregate reported totals for the periods in question.