North American companies ordered 9,055 robots valued at $543 million in the first quarter of 2026, according to new data released by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). Compared to the first quarter of 2025, this represents a 0.1% decrease in units ordered and a 6.4% decline in revenue.
“Collaborative robots are one example of how the robotics market continues to evolve,” says Alex Shikany, EVP at A3. “The broader takeaway from the first quarter is that automation demand is becoming more diverse in terms of industries, applications and deployment models. That is an important signal for the long-term health of the market, especially as companies continue to invest in productivity, flexibility, quality and competitiveness.”
Key takeaways:
· While unit orders were essentially flat, order revenue declined year over year, driven largely by a cyclical decline in automotive OEM orders, which fell 35.1% in units and 48.2% in revenue compared to the same quarter last year. Given the size and timing of automotive programs, that decline had an outsized impact on the total market.
· Outside of automotive OEMs, demand across much of the robotics market remained healthy. Automotive component suppliers increased orders 28.1% in units and 15.5% in revenue compared to Q1 2025, reflecting the segment’s typical lag behind OEM ordering cycles.
· Several non-automotive industries also posted strong year-over-year gains in robot orders, including semi and electronics/photonics: +31.7% units, +79.2% revenue; and food and consumer goods: +16.0% units, +16.3% revenue.
· Collaborative robots remained one of the strongest-performing categories in the quarter. Companies ordered 1,637 collaborative robots valued at $69.8 million in Q1 2026, representing a 55.6% increase in units and a 78.2% increase in revenue compared to Q1 2025. Collaborative robots accounted for 18.1% of all robot units ordered and 12.9% of total order revenue during the quarter.
