Robots: Japan delivers 52 percent of global supply – IFR outlook
November 22 2017 - 05:05PM
Business Wire
Japan is the world´s predominant industrial robot
manufacturer: The production capacity of the Japanese suppliers has
reached 153,000 units in 2016 – the highest level ever recorded.
Today, Japan´s manufacturers deliver 52 percent of the global
supply. These are results published by the International Federation
of Robotics (IFR) ahead of the International Robot Exhibition
(iREX) in Tokyo - November 29th - December 2nd 2017.
“Japan is a highly robotized country where even robots are
assembled by robots”, said Joe Gemma, President of the
International Federation of Robotics (IFR). “Robot sales in Japan
increased by 10 percent to about 39,000 units in 2016 - reaching
the highest level in the last ten years.”
Japan´s high export rate
Japan exported a total of nearly 115,000 industrial robots in
2016 with a value of 309 billion yen (about US$ 2.7 billion). This
is by far the highest export volume for one year. The export rate
increased from 72 percent to 75 percent (2011-2016). North America,
China, the Republic of Korea and Europe were target export
destinations. The home market has strongly recovered since the
financial crisis in 2009 and reached 39,000 units, the highest
level since 2006 (37,000 units).
The automotive industry is the largest destination market for
industrial robots in Japan with a share of 36 percent of the total
supply. Car manufacturers bought 48 percent more industrial robots
than in 2015 (2016: 5,711 units). The Japanese car companies have
been increasingly expanding production facilities overseas,
particularly in China, as well as other Asian countries and in the
United States and Mexico.
After the strong growth of robots in the electrical/electronics
industry in 2015 (11,659 units), a decrease of 7 percent followed
in 2016. However, the industry has preferred to invest in
production facilities abroad. Continued investments in robots can
be expected with the increasing demand for chips, displays,
sensors, batteries and other technologies (connected
industries).
Japan outlook 2020
Based on estimates provided by the Japanese Robot Association
(JARA), the IFR expects an increase of around 10 percent in 2017 in
domestic installations. Between 2018 and 2020 a further average
annual increase of about 5 percent is likely, provided the economic
recovery in Japan continues.
The IFR: https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/
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PresseconNEWSnetworkCarsten Heer, +49 (0) 40 822 44
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