Mobile robots still poised for long-term growth despite current economic uncertainty: Interact Analysis

Interact Analysis, a global market intelligence firm, shared in a report that it has cut its short-term growth projection for the mobile robot market by 18 percent in 2027 as global economic and political turbulence persists. According to the firm, the outlook for mobile robots – automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) – remains positive. However, it is constrained by external factors, which are leading to slowing demand, a ‘wait and see’ attitude to investment from manufacturers and retailers, and slower than anticipated price declines.

The firm polled 300 buyers of mobile robots. Results reveal that they expect to increase spending on automation in 2024 by a mean average of 18 percent compared with 2023, as global conflicts and economic weakness cause short-term falls in spending.

Interact Analysis has reduced the mid-term forecast in its most recent Mobile Robot Report, despite the overall outlook for the future remaining robust and growth expected to be in double digits throughout the forecast period to 2030. The installed base is predicted to exceed 4.2 million units by 2030, with mobile robot revenues expected to increase by more than 20 percent annually between 2024 and 2030. Labour, rising wages, more diverse and demanding e-commerce and economic/political uncertainty will be key drivers of investment in automation, notes the firm.

Despite the current market constraints, there is still scope for future growth because, by 2030, only 13 percent of warehouses will have deployed at least one fulfillment AMR and just three percent of all forklifts shipped globally will be automated.

Ash Sharma, CCO and vice-president of research at Interact Analysis, comments, “While adoption remains modest today and the socio-political climate is constraining growth, the rapid advances in mobile robotics and the flexibility these solutions offer are setting the foundation for transformative growth. By 2030, labour shortages and shifting supply chain dynamics will make mobile robots indispensable across logistics and manufacturing, even as economic challenges slow near-term adoption rates.”

China continues to lead the world in mobile robot shipments and is expected to account for approximately 33% of all mobile robots sold annually out to 2030. However, it has been affected by factors including weaker-than-expected economic performance impacting domestic demand, lower relative prices for mobile robots and slow uptake of electric vehicles. In the future, the prospect of tariffs in the U.S. and Europe could further reduce demand, while recently announced stimulus policies could boost China’s domestic market. The forecast period will also see market growth accelerate in other regions, particularly the rest of APAC, with strong increases also anticipated in the United States and EMEA.