With demand for robots growing as companies in multiple sectors look for new ways to enhance their productivity and competitiveness post-pandemic, ABB has compiled a set of growth predictions, looking at key trends driving demand for robots in the coming year. "The pandemic accelerated far-reaching global mega trends – from labor shortages and supply chain uncertainty, to the individualized consumer and growing pressure to operate sustainably and resiliently – leading new businesses to look to robotic automation," said Marc Segura, ABB's newly appointed robotics division President. "As technology opens new opportunities for meeting customer demands, new trends will continue to emerge that will further drive demand in areas where robots have traditionally not been used." Based on customer conversations, market research and a global survey of 250 companies across multiple industries, ABB has identified three key trends that will shape the demand for robots in 2022. With many countries restricting and phasing out the production of combustion engine vehicles over the next decade, the race towards electric cars has accelerated.

China and the U.S. are the top two countries for robot demand. It's true that more robots than ever are participating in the human labor force. Last year, businesses worldwide spent $26 billion employing some 70 million robots on manufacturing and service jobs, according to the World Robotics Report published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) on Wednesday. On the industrial side, 422,000 robots were shipped last year, a 6% increase from 2017. More than half of the robots were bought by automotive and electronics companies, which came as a surprise amid the tough market conditions facing these industries in 2018.