North American robot orders increased in the third quarter of 2025, according to new data from the Association for Advancing Automation. A3 reported that companies ordered 8,806 robots valued at 574 million dollars during the quarter, representing year-over-year increases of 11.6 percent in unit volume and 17.2 percent in revenue.
Non-automotive customers accounted for 59 percent of total orders. Food and consumer goods companies recorded a 105 percent increase compared with the same period in 2024, while orders from automotive OEMs rose 68 percent. Metals grew 11 percent and all other industries increased 8 percent. Orders from automotive component manufacturers declined 25 percent, and plastics and rubber orders decreased 35 percent.
A3 also continued its new reporting on collaborative robots. Companies ordered 1,174 collaborative robots in the third quarter, valued at 42 million dollars. These systems represented 13.3 percent of total units and 7.2 percent of total revenue. For the first nine months of 2025, collaborative robot orders reached 4,259 units valued at 156 million dollars, accounting for 16.1 percent of units and 9.4 percent of revenue. A3 plans to expand its collaborative robot reporting to include growth metrics and trends by sector.
From January through September, total North American orders reached 26,441 robots valued at 1.7 billion dollars, reflecting year-to-date increases of 6.6 percent in unit volume and 10.6 percent in revenue compared with the same period in 2024.
“It’s encouraging to see robotics demand improve over last year, with more automation projects steadily returning to the pipeline,” said Alex Shikany, Executive Vice President at A3. “The market has experienced a substantial amount of economic and policy uncertainty this year, and it’s been a challenging environment for capital investment, but there is an upside. We’re seeing sustained interest from companies across the region, with attendance rising at events like Automate, and more leaders are exploring automation as a long-term strategy to strengthen their operations. That enthusiasm is now starting to show up in the order data, particularly across general industry sectors. As industrial production improves into 2026 and supply chains stabilize, we expect automation to remain a strategic priority for manufacturers looking to compete, build resilience, and address persistent workforce pressures.”
