A3 Reports North American Robot Orders Jump 25% in Third Quarter

Insider Brief

• North American companies ordered 10,989 robots valued at $723.5 million in the third quarter, with unit orders rising 24.8% from a year earlier and order value increasing 26.1%.
• Automotive component orders climbed 90.4%, while semiconductors, electronics and photonics rose 97.6%, plastics and rubber 67.7%, life sciences 38.7% and metals 37%.
• Collaborative robot orders increased about 56% to 1,831 units worth $63.8 million, accounting for 16.7% of all robots ordered during the quarter.

North American companies ordered 10,989 robots valued at $723.5 million in the third quarter, with unit orders rising 24.8% from a year earlier as demand increased across automotive suppliers, semiconductors and several other manufacturing sectors.

According to the Association for Advancing Automation, or A3, the value of robot orders increased 26.1% from the third quarter of 2025. The period was the strongest quarter of 2026 so far.

“What stands out in the third quarter is not simply the magnitude of the growth, but how broadly it was distributed across the market,” A3 executive vice president Alex Shikany said in the announcement. “Automotive OEM orders returned to positive growth, while Automotive Components and sectors such as semiconductors/electronics and life sciences posted significant gains. That broader mix is important because it points to a robotics market that is becoming increasingly diversified across industries and applications.”

Through the first nine months of the year, North American companies ordered 28,984 robots valued at about $1.89 billion. That represented increases of 9.6% in units and 13.3% in value from the same period in 2025.

Automotive component suppliers posted the largest increase among major categories, with robot orders climbing 90.4% in the third quarter. Automotive manufacturers returned to year-over-year growth with a 7.5% increase after declining during the first half.

Despite the third-quarter improvement, A3 said automotive OEM orders remained 17% below their year-earlier level through the first nine months of 2026.

Growth Across Manufacturing

Several nonautomotive sectors also reported sharp increases in robot orders during the quarter.

Semiconductors, electronics and photonics — Orders increased 97.6% from a year earlier.

Plastics and rubber — Orders rose 67.7%.

Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and biomedical — Orders increased 38.7%.

Metals — Orders rose 37%.

Food and consumer goods was the main category to decline, with robot orders falling 23.7%. A3 said orders across its remaining industry categories increased 0.5%.

The association linked the semiconductor and electronics increase to continued investment in U.S. chip manufacturing and demand for electronics used in AI and other applications. It also pointed to domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing investment as one factor supporting life-sciences automation demand.

Collaborative Robot Orders Rise

Collaborative robot orders also increased during the quarter, reaching 1,831 units valued at $63.8 million. A3 said cobot unit orders were about 56% higher than a year earlier and represented 16.7% of all robots ordered during the quarter.

Through September, companies ordered 4,605 collaborative robots valued at about $178 million. Cobots accounted for 15.9% of robot units and 9.4% of total order value during the first nine months. Their share was considerably higher in some industries. A3 said collaborative robots represented 43.8% of robot orders in life sciences, pharmaceuticals and biomedical applications and 36.9% in semiconductors, electronics and photonics during the first nine months of 2026.

The third-quarter increase coincided with expanding U.S. manufacturing activity, with A3 citing a September ISM Manufacturing PMI reading of 54.5 and Federal Reserve data that showed manufacturing output increased 0.3% during the month.

The association pointed out that higher input costs, trade uncertainty and the timing of large manufacturing projects remain factors that could affect robot demand heading into the fourth quarter.