The Future of US Manufacturing is Automation

The Future of US Manufacturing is Automation

Robot sales hit a record high for the third quarter in a row in North America this year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). However, the United States remains third for robot installations, following behind China and Japan. China is home to 46% of all robots ever installed with roughly 140.5 million installations. Japan comes in second with 49.9 million installations and the US follows in third with 33.3 million installations. To better position ourselves within the global economy, we, as a country need to adopt automation faster.

In addition to competing with foreign manufacturers with more robotic implementation, US manufacturers also must consider lower labor costs and international shipping costs. As manufacturers in the US, we can work to match, and hopefully exceed, this foreign manufacturing advantage! However, we need to be diligent in adding new robotics and automation into our existing manufacturing processes.

There can be hesitation around implementing automation with the uncertain stability of America's economy, but don't let short term challenges impact your long-term strategy. If you are struggling to find skilled labor, automate now! If you think that robotics and automation take jobs away from people, think again. Data shows that countries with more automation end up having more jobs available and higher paying jobs. The implementation of automation reallocates workers to more specialized tasks. In one year, there are 8,700 potential production hours. Of these 8,700, manufacturers in America only operate between 2,000-3,000 of them. Humans need breaks, robots don't. With the use of Robotics, manufacturers can mitigate their risks of quality concerns, while leveraging robotic technology to increase overall efficiency and reduce cost.

Companies increase their throughput, improve their quality, and decrease their operating costs once they implement automation. This will in turn benefit America's workforce and economy. The average return on investment for automation is less than two years. Let's work towards the future of manufacturing in America by implementing automation today.