North American Robot Orders Up 24.8% in Q3

North American companies ordered 10,989 robots worth $723.5 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 24.8% in units and 26.1% in value on a year earlier, according to data released by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) on 28 October. The trade group called it “the strongest quarter of the year so far”.

The rise lifted orders for the first nine months of the year to 28,984 robots worth about $1.89 billion, up 9.6% in units and 13.3% in value. The figures are among the clearest regular measures of how fast North American factories are buying automation, and they arrive as companies from logistics groups to carmakers test humanoid robots in warehouses.

In brief

Q3 orders: 10,989 robots and $723.5 million, up 24.8% and 26.1% year on year.
Automotive component orders rose 90.4% and semiconductor and electronics orders 97.6%.
Collaborative robot orders rose about 56% to 1,831 units.

Which industries ordered more

The gains were spread across most sectors. After falling in the first half of 2026, orders from carmakers (automotive OEMs) returned to growth, rising 7.5% in the quarter. Orders from automotive parts suppliers climbed 90.4%, continuing strong demand seen earlier in the year.

Change in North American robot orders by industry, Q3 2026 v Q3 2025 (units). Source: A3.

Industry	Change in units
Semi & Electronics/Photonics	+97.6%
Automotive Component	+90.4%
Plastics & Rubber	+67.7%
Life Sciences/Pharma/Biomed	+38.7%
Metals	+37.0%
Automotive OEM	+7.5%
All Other Industries	+0.5%
Food & Consumer Goods	-23.7%

Change in North American robot orders by industry, Q3 2026 v Q3 2025 (units). Source: A3.

Food and consumer goods was the only named sector to fall. A3 linked the semiconductor and electronics jump to continued investment in US chip manufacturing and to demand for electronics that support AI. It said life sciences has also seen continued investment in domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Cobots take a bigger share

Collaborative robots, designed to work alongside people with built-in safety features, also had a strong quarter. A3 counted 1,831 units worth $63.8 million, up about 56% in units, or 16.7% of all robots ordered in the quarter. Through September, companies ordered 4,605 cobots worth about $178 million, 15.9% of units but only 9.4% of order value, which means they cost less on average than other robots.

Cobots are especially common in some sectors. A3 said they made up 43.8% of robot orders in life sciences, pharma and biomed in the first nine months, and 36.9% in semiconductors, electronics and photonics.

Why breadth matters more than the headline rise

A single strong quarter can reflect the timing of a few big projects, and A3 itself lists “the timing of large manufacturing projects” among the factors to watch, along with higher input costs and trade uncertainty. What makes the third quarter more notable is how many sectors grew at once.

“What stands out in the third quarter is not simply the magnitude of the growth, but how broadly it was distributed across the market,” said Alex Shikany, executive vice president at A3. He said the mix “points to a robotics market that is becoming increasingly diversified across industries and applications”.

That diversification matters because North American robot demand has long relied heavily on carmakers and their suppliers. The carmakers’ recovery is still partial: A3 said OEM orders remained 17% below their year-earlier level through the first nine months, even after the third-quarter rise. Growth in parts suppliers, chipmaking, plastics and pharmaceuticals means the market is less exposed to a single industry’s investment cycle.

The data also offers a counterweight to the attention on humanoids. Projects such as Schaeffler’s humanoid factory in China and Tesla’s Optimus production plans draw headlines, but A3’s figures track orders for the industrial robots and cobots already being installed on production lines today.

What to watch in the fourth quarter

A3 tied the rise to improving factory activity, citing a September ISM Manufacturing PMI of 54.5, a ninth straight month of expansion, and Federal Reserve data showing manufacturing output up 0.3% in September. It said North America enters the final quarter “with positive momentum”. The full-year count will show whether the third quarter marks a lasting turn or a catch-up after a weak first half for carmakers. In its Business Wire release, A3 says more detailed data is available to press on request and to members through its A3 Vault.