USA: robotics industry grew 11% in 2025, IFR data shows

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) has reported that industrial robot installations in the United States rose 11% year-over-year in 2025, reaching 38,000 units. The food industry drove the fastest sector-level growth (+30%), while China's installations remain approximately ten times higher.

Key takeaways

38,000 industrial robot installations in the USA in 2025 — up 11% YoY
Food industry with fastest growth: +30%, joining metal, machinery and electronics (each ~3,000 installations)
Automotive remains largest adopter: 13,500 units, just 1% below the previous year's record
US robot density: 307 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers — 8th worldwide
China: 295,000 installations in 2024 (54% of global market) — robotics now at the core of the new 15th Five-Year Plan

Back on the growth track

IFR data published June 19, 2026, confirms the US is recovering ground. An 11% increase is a clear rebound from the 2023 slowdown, when the automotive sector was restructuring EV production lines.

The standout surprise is the food industry. A sector traditionally resistant to automation due to product variability and strict hygiene requirements posted 30% growth. Food now stands alongside metal/machinery and electronics — three sectors second only to automotive in robot adoption.

The United States is back on the growth track. While automotive achieved its third-best result in seven years, the data highlights a growing demand for flexible automation in the food industry.

Takayuki Ito, President, IFR

USA vs. China: a structural gap

Despite the positive figures, the global perspective is sobering. The US installs roughly 38,000 robots per year — China installed 295,000 units in 2024 alone, representing 54% of the entire global market.

China's lead rests on a national robotics strategy launched a decade ago. The new 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) places robotics at the core of its modern industrial system, focusing AI research on physical applications with robots as the primary driver of economic growth.

The US robot density of 307 per 10,000 manufacturing workers ranks 8th globally — ahead of China (166), but clearly behind South Korea (1,220), Germany (449) and Japan (446).

A national strategy — the US policy push

The industry's response is under way. The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has presented Congress with a vision for a national robotics strategy: a Federal Robotics Office, a national commission, market-driven tax incentives, workforce retraining programs and a federal mandate to purchase domestic robotics technology.

In parallel, a bipartisan Senate bill to establish a National Commission on Robotics — co-sponsored by Senator Dave McCormick — has advanced through committee.

Why it matters

An 11% annual increase signals accelerating automation in the US — but the gap to China is structural, not cyclical. China has a decade-old national strategy, sustained state funding and an explicit link between AI and robotics at the planning level. The US is still debating the institutional framework.

The food industry acceleration is particularly significant. Unlike automotive, where one line absorbs hundreds of identical arms, food manufacturing demands flexible systems that handle variable products in strict hygiene conditions. A 30% jump suggests vendors have finally crossed the threshold of ease-of-deployment that this sector requires — opening new market segments that were previously too difficult to automate.

For Europe, these figures carry a geopolitical dimension: US manufacturing reshoring drives domestic robotics demand, which could shift global supply chains and talent pools away from European manufacturing hubs.

What's next

IFR has not yet released preliminary data for China in 2025 — a full US–China comparison will only be possible after that publication.
The National Commission on Robotics bill will face a full Senate vote — the outcome will determine the institutional readiness of the US for a long-term robotics policy.
IFR projects sustained long-term growth for North America — the next regional data report is scheduled for Q4 2026.