North American robot orders rise nearly 25% in third quarter of 2026

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) reported that North American robot orders grew nearly 25% in the third quarter of 2026, marking the strongest quarter of the year.

This growth was driven by substantial increases in orders from the semiconductor, automotive, and other industries, with the semiconductor and electronics sector seeing a 97.6% increase compared to last year.

Automotive components orders rose 90.4%, plastics and rubber 67.7%, while life sciences and metals also experienced strong gains of 38.7% and 37%, respectively.

Automotive original equipment manufacturers increased their robot purchases by 7.5%, reversing a decline seen in the first half of the year, while food and consumer goods sectors saw a 23.7% decrease in robot orders.

Federal policies such as the CHIPS and Science Act and increased demand for weight-loss drug production have supported investment in robotics, according to A3 analysts.

Collaborative robots, which work alongside humans, made up a significant portion of orders during the quarter.

A3 noted that the growth in robot orders was broadly distributed across the market, reflecting improving manufacturing activity despite challenges like input costs and trade issues.