North American Robot Orders Surge 24.8% in Q3 2026
Manufacturing robotics orders in North America jumped sharply in the third quarter of 2026, with 10,989 units valued at $723.5 million.
North American companies ordered 10,989 robots valued at $723.5 million in the third quarter of 2026. Unit orders rose 24.8% from a year earlier, while order value increased 26.1%, signaling a broad-based recovery in manufacturing automation investment.
Semiconductor and automotive lead growth
Two sectors drove the market. Semiconductors, electronics, and photonics saw robot orders skyrocket by 97.6% year-over-year. Automotive component orders followed closely, climbing 90.4%. The association behind the data linked the semiconductor surge to continued investment in U.S. chip manufacturing and demand for electronics used in AI and other applications.
Automotive original equipment manufacturers also returned to growth, increasing robot purchases by 7.5% in the quarter. This marks a turnaround after a decline in orders during the first half of the year. However, automotive OEM orders through the first nine months of 2026 remained 17% below year-earlier levels.
Diversification across other sectors
Growth was not confined to the leading industries. Several other manufacturing sectors posted substantial double-digit increases in robot purchases for the quarter.
| Sector | Growth in Robot Orders (Q3 2026) |
|---|---|
| Plastics & Rubber | 67.7% |
| Life Sciences/Pharma/Biomed | 38.7% |
| Metals | 37.0% |
| All Other Industries | 0.5% |
One sector bucked the positive trend. Food and consumer goods purchases declined 23.7%. Alex Shikany, executive vice president at A3, stated that the broader mix of growth points to a robotics market becoming increasingly diversified across industries and applications.
Collaborative robots gain ground
Collaborative robots, or cobots, saw particularly strong demand. Orders surged approximately 56% year-over-year in the third quarter, reaching 1,831 units valued at $63.8 million. Cobots accounted for 16.7% of all robot units ordered during the period.
The penetration of cobots is even more pronounced in specific high-growth sectors. In the first nine months of 2026, cobots accounted for 43.8% of robot orders in life sciences, pharma, and biomed. They made up 36.9% of orders in semiconductors, electronics, and photonics.
Through September 2026, North American companies ordered a total of 28,984 robots valued at approximately $1.89 billion. Year-to-date units increased 9.6% and value increased 13.3% over the same period in 2025. Collaborative robots represented 15.9% of total robot units and 9.4% of order value for the first three quarters.
The broader economic context for manufacturing remained positive. The September ISM Manufacturing PMI registered 54.5, marking a ninth consecutive month of expansion. Separate Federal Reserve data showed manufacturing output increasing 0.3% in September 2026. Industry observers now monitor whether the strong Q3 momentum continues into the final quarter as year-end capital budgets are finalized.
