Press
Release ECE/STAT/00/1
Geneva, 7 February 2000
Robot orders
rocket to an all time high
"Never
before have so many orders for industrial robots been placed by industry, pointing towards
an acceleration in the drive to automate", says Jan Karlsson of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), which together with the International Federation
of Robotics (IFR), regularly survey the robot market.
World-wide orders up 20%....
World-wide orders for
industrial robots surged 20% in 1999 compared with 1998. Firms in North America led this
drive to automate, as orders for robots skyrocketed 60% (see figure 1). While European
businesses stepped up orders by a more modest 12%, this was still impressive growth
considering that a surge of 31% had already taken place in 1998.
Sources:
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and International Federation of
Robotics (IFR).
…… Led by automotive as well
as food and other industries.
The
automotive industry continued to lead the drive to robotize, boosting orders by 24%
compared with 1998. The other sectors of manufacturing together increased orders by 14%,
most notably the food industry. Generally, industries exposed to strong international
competition are investing in robots in order to remain competitive in increasingly global
markets .
Robotization spurred by plummeting robot prices, ………
This surge in robot
investments, in particular by industry in North America and Europe, which are rapidly
catching up on Japan, has several explanations. A central reason is that prices of robots
are falling rapidly relative to labour costs. Robot prices in 1999 were 40% lower than
in 1990(see figure 2). At the same time today’s robots have much higher
performance than those produced in 1990 with respect to versatility, speed, accuracy, and
above all computer power. A quality adjusted price index would therefore show an even
higher price reduction.
………increasing
labour costs, ………
Sources: United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and International Federation of Robotics (IFR).Notes: Index of labour costs refers to United States manufacturing industry. Index of
robot prices is calculated from data supplied by a selection of the world's leading
robot manufacturers, converted to US$ at 1999 conversion rate.
While prices of robots have
plummeted and quality has increased, labour costs have risen steadily. In the United
States, for instance, labour compensation in the manufacturing industry rose by over
30% in the period 1990-1999 (see figure 2 ). With each passing year robots are becoming more profitable .
………and labour
shortage.
The enormous automation
drive that took place in Japan in the 1980s was to a significant extent driven by a severe
labour shortage. The same phenomenon is now occurring in North America and in many
European countries.
Demand also spurred by holistic
efficiencies, ………
While robots have long
been prized for their ability to automate elements of the manufacturing process, they are
beginning to play a key role in ensuring that all the processes involved in production
work together effectively. Tighter integration of processes such as customer ordering,
product design, purchasing, assembly, inventory control, product delivery and so on is
also contributing to higher productivity and to the increasing demand for robots.
Robots also ensure that output can be
increased in a fairly short time and, because of their inherent flexibility, can be easily
and rapidly adapted to new product models. This is becoming increasingly important as the
lifetime of products is steadily falling. There are examples of industries today that earn
over 50% of their revenue from products that did not exist one year ago!
…………shorter
workweek, need for better working conditions,……
In some countries a
35-hour workweek has been or soon will be introduced. This will give further impetus to
robotization, as a robot’s workday can easily be increased from 12-16 to 24 hours,
providing there is a demand for its output.
Increasing demand for good working
environments is also spurring orders for robots to work in areas hazardous to humans such
as operations involving heavy repetitive lifts, dirt, grease, smoke, paints, handling of
chemicals etc.
………and superior
product quality.
With technological
development robots have become so accurate that, in many cases, it's hardly possible to
ensure the same quality of output, and above all a constant high quality level,
with manual operations. Older readers might remember the so-called "Monday cars"
that were sold in the 1960s and 1970s. Since then automation and robotization have
eliminated many of these deficiencies caused by human errors and negligence, and are now
one of the most important means of ensuring high and constant quality of manufactured
products.
Robots will boost investment in
2000 and beyond
A large share of the
orders placed in 1999 will not be delivered until the year 2000. As most robots installed
today are part, and often the centrepiece, of integrated manufacturing systems, this
points to continued high investment not only in robotics but also in a broad range of
non-robotic equipment, machines, computers, software and systems engineering required to
complete these systems.
"Rapidly falling relative prices of
robots and increased competition through globalization will spur continued high growth in
robot investment in the years ahead", says Mike Wilson, chairman of IFR. "We
have only seen the first phase of the robotization drive, which has mainly focused on the
automotive industry. The food industry and all other manufacturing industries as well as
many non-manufacturing sectors will significantly step up their investment in robot
systems" predicts Jan Karlsson, UN/ECE.
***
For more information about the ECE/IFR Survey please
contact:
| Mr. Jan Karlsson |
International
Federation Robotics (IFR) |
Mr. Mike
Wilson
Chairman of IFR
|
| United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) |
Box 5510 |
Meta Vision
Systems Ltd. Oakfield House
Oakfield Industrial
Estate
|
| Statistical
Division Palais des Nation
CH-1211 Geneva 10
|
S-11485 Stockholm |
Eynsham,
Oxfordshire OX8 1TH
|
| Switzerland |
Sweden |
United Kingdom |
| Phone: +41 -
22 9173285
Fax:+41 - 22 9170040
e-mail:[email protected]
|
Phone: +46 - 8
7820843
Fax: +46 - 8 6603378
e-mail: [email protected]
|
Phone:+44 -
468 443795
Fax:+44 – 1865
e-mail: [email protected]
|
In order to better serve, please send a
copy of your article to: Information Unit,
United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UN/ECE), Palais des Nations, Room 356, CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, Tel: +(41
22) 917 44 44, Fax: +(41 22) 917 05 05,
E-mail: [email protected],
Website: http://www.unece.org
Thank you |