Robot orders and shipments drop
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/1/1998
A double-digit decline in North American robotics shipments and orders was in-evitable due to rapid growth, according to Donald A. Vincent, executive vice president of RIA.However, the trend may not last. "With manufacturing companies expected to continue investing heavily in new capital equipment to stay globally competitive," says Vincent, "the robotics market should resume its growth soon."
A total of 5,535 robots valued at $504.2 million were shipped through June, a drop of 664 units from the first half of 1997.
New orders through June totaled 5,233 robots valued at $533.9 million, a decline of over $112 million or 21% from the same period last year.
Some 86,000 robots are currently in use at U.S. factories, placing the U.S. second in robotics next to Japan according to RIA.
An application-specific workshop is scheduled for fall of 1998. The 3rd Annual "Robotic Solutions for Packaging & Palletizing Workshop" is slated for November 10 & 11 in Chicago, Ill.
For more information on RIA and the industry, contact RIA Headquarters at P.O. Box 3724, Ann Arbor, Mich., 48106, on the Internet at www.robotics.org, or by phone at 734-994-6088.
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