Orders for Japanese industrial robots from October to December 2020 reached record highs

February 10, 2021

On January 28, 2021, Japan Robot Association announced the order amount and shipment value of industrial robots of member companies for the period from October to December 2020.

The order amount increased by 35.4% from the same period of the previous year to 222.3 billion yen. Orders increased for the second consecutive quarter, and were the highest ever as order by quarter. While demand in Japan was sluggish, industrial robots for welding and clean rooms remained strong in Asia, including China.

Besides, the production value increased 8.6% year-on-year to 173.7 billion yen, and the shipment value increased 5.5% year-on-year to 169.3 billion yen. Each number increases for the first time in two quarters.

The annual order value from January to December 2020 increased by 8.6% from the same period of the previous year to 725.5 billion yen, and the annual production value increased by 1.4% from the same period of the previous year to 658.7 billion yen, both exceeding the previous year. In 2020, the industrial robot industry was greatly affected by COVID-19, both domestically and overseas. Especially in the first half of 2020, economic activity stagnated and companies were less motivated to make capital investment. Orders in the entire robot industry were on a downward trend. After mid-2020, demand of industrial robots for semiconductors and some regions such as China recovered.