The US Passed Japan in Robot Installs: What It Means

What did the IFR report for 2025?

The International Federation of Robotics reported in a release dated September 24, 2026 that US companies installed 38,400 industrial robots in 2025. That was up 12 percent from the prior year, and it placed the United States ahead of Japan, which installed 36,200. The US now ranks second only to China among national markets.

The IFR figures carry more context than the headline. Heffner, as reported in the release, described 2025 as the third-strongest US year on record, behind 2018 and 2022. A June preliminary estimate of 38,000 units and 11 percent growth was replaced by the September numbers.

Where did the growth come from?

Automotive remains the largest customer at 13,500 installations, although that category slipped 1 percent. Metal and machinery fell 15 percent to 3,000. Food and beverage climbed 30 percent to 2,900, which is the clearest sign of where the 2025 gain sits.

Heffner attributed the growth to the food industry and to sectors such as warehousing, logistics and medical. A secondary outlet calculated that the three named industries total about 19,400 units, roughly half the US figure. The September release does not itemize the rest.

Preliminary June data, as reported by a trade publication, put non-manufacturing installations up 41 percent. Treat that as an early read, since the September totals are the ones IFR published.

Why does Japan's slide matter?

Japan's 36,219 units in the IFR global summary were down 19 percent. According to The Next Web's coverage of the report, that was Japan's lowest total in a decade.

China installed 354,200 units, 59 percent of global demand. Against that scale, the US climb to second place says as much about China's lead as it does about any shift in the middle of the market.

What does robot density tell us?

Installations measure flow, and density measures the installed base relative to the workforce. Per IFR's 2024 data, published in April 2026, the US has 307 robots per 10,000 employees and ranks eighth.

Korea sits at 1,220, Germany at 449 and Japan at 446. Canada is at 241 and Mexico at 62. A country can climb the install rankings in one strong year and still trail on density, so read the two numbers together.

Which signals apply to a mid-sized plant?

IFR says reshoring policy and labor scarcity are expected to create long-run opportunities, while uncertainty and trade tensions weigh on the short term. It also expects US installations to keep growing in 2026 and beyond.

A secondary outlet reports that IFR expects 2 percent growth in the Americas in 2026, with US volume growing slowly after the 2025 jump. Those signals point the same direction at different speeds, so budget for steady demand.

Cost is part of the signal too. IFR says easier programming and system integration are reducing deployment costs, which matters most for plants that never had an in-house robotics group.

How do you separate the headline from your own site?

The national number averages automotive, food, metals, logistics and medical together. Your site is one sector, one building and one labor pool. Check these points before the headline drives a budget.

• Which industry your line sits in, and whether it matches the category that grew in 2025
• Whether your repetitive tasks are handling or machine tending, the largest share of global new deployments at 59 percent according to a secondary report
• How many integrators can reach your site and support the unit after go-live
• Whether your floor, power and network have been mapped and documented

Do service robots follow the same curve?

IFR's service robot data is global, not US-specific. Professional service robot shipments rose 24 percent to almost 250,000 units in 2025.

Transport and logistics was the standout, with sales up 21 percent to 117,500 units according to a separate IFR report cited by a trade outlet. For facility operators, that is the closer parallel to floor and material moves, though it is a global figure.

Where does Service Robot Co. fit?

IFR reports that most US robots are still imported from Japan and Europe, although the US has numerous domestic system integrators. For a mid-sized operator, the integrator often matters as much as the brand on the arm.

Service Robot Co. is a vendor-neutral robot integrator. We choose the unit from the right manufacturer for the task, then handle deployment, integration, training and service through one partner and one number. Customers take robots on a 3-year lease with one fixed payment, quoted after a site assessment with mapping, and our engineers provide go-live support.

What the numbers do not settle

The September release does not break down the full US total, so the sector picture is partial. Some figures come from aggregators and trade press citing IFR rather than from IFR itself, and they should be labeled that way.

When you quote the headline, use 38,400 units from the release. IFR's global summary rounds the US figure to almost 38,500, which is close but not the same number.