Annual industrial robot shipments ‘will reach more than 760k units in 2030’
- Industrial robot shipments forecast to grow from 550k units in 2025 to 760k units in 2030
- Weak investment in the automotive sector is projected to stunt growth in EMEA region
- Collaborative robot shipment growth expected to significantly outpace overall market
London, 24th June 2026 – The industrial robot industry saw 5.1% growth in 2025, following a contraction of -2% in 2024, Interact Analysis reports. The market is now forecast to record steady growth out to 2030, at an average annual rate of 6.7%, rising from 549,555 units in 2025 to 761,303 units in 2030. The latest industrial robots report from the market intelligence specialist suggests that improving market sentiment, reshoring efforts in the US, and strong demand in the semiconductor and electronics sectors are among the primary reasons for growth.
Material Handling and assembly are anticipated to be the key applications driving growth with 2025-30 compound growth rates of 7.0% and 6.9% respectively, as demand for efficient logistics and precise manufacturing-line assembly rises fast.
Strong demand in APAC, while weak automotive sector constrains EMEA growth
Analysts project APAC will experience the strongest shipment growth across the major regions, with an average annual growth rate of 7.1% from 2025-30. This compares with 6.2% for the Americas and 4.7% for EMEA. Growth in global shipments will be driven by sectors such as logistics, new energy, and semiconductors; while a weak automotive sector has served as a drag on industrial robot growth in the EMEA region. Interact Analysis analysts suggest this is a result of poor investment due to high interest rates in the region, leading to fewer new automation projects. This has contributed to EMEA shipments contracting by 4.9% in 2025 and has impacted sales of high-end welding and heavy-payload robots. Despite this, automotive will remain the largest sector for industrial robots, with global shipments increasing from 171,556 shipped in 2025 to 223,864 in 2030.
On a more granular level, India will see the highest levels of growth, at 12.5% over the forecast period. In contrast, Germany will achieve a compound growth rate of just 3.7% from 2025-2030 and is predicted to see a contraction in industrial robot shipments of -0.3% in 2026.
Samantha Mou, Senior Analyst at Interact Analysis, says, “Continued growth is expected in 2026, supported by improving market sentiment, reshoring and automation demand in the US, and strong demand in the semiconductor and electronics sectors. Over the next five years, the market is projected to grow steadily, driven by robot adoption across more manufacturing processes and emerging industries.
“Revenue growth is expected to lag behind unit growth due to competition and declining average prices. However, price erosion is anticipated to slow in 2026 as robot manufacturers’ cost pressures increase amid rising oil prices.”
Collaborative robots represent the fastest growing robotics segment
While articulated robots will remain the largest robotics segment for the duration of the forecast period, its growth will be outpaced by several other robot types. Interact Analysis projects that collaborative robots will be the fastest growing segment, with an average annual shipment growth rate of 17.4% between 2025 and 2030, compared with just 5.0% for articulated robots. SCARA robots are also projected to outpace articulated robots, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% between 2025 and 2030, driven by robust demand from the electronics and semiconductor industries.
About the Report:
Our Industrial Robot includes market size and forecast data for industrial robots with detailed segmentations in both revenue and shipment terms, five-year forecasts to 2030, and key trend and market driver discussion and analysis provided by robot type, payload, industry and application.
In addition, this edition also provides supplier market shares and rankings of leading industrial robot companies in 2023-2025, with an analysis of the competitive landscape.
The Premium version of the report provides highly-detailed analysis which models demand for industrial robots by country by industry.
About Interact Analysis
With over 200 years of combined experience, Interact Analysis is the market intelligence authority for global supply chain automation. Our research covers the entire automation value chain – from the technology used to automate factory production, through inventory storage and distribution channels, to the transportation of the finished goods. The world’s leading companies trust us to surface robust insights and opportunities for technology-driven growth. To learn more, visit www.InteractAnalysis.com.
