On April 25th, the Japan Robotics Association (JARA) released membership data on new orders and production of industrial robots in Japan for the first three months of 2024.
Data shows that new orders decreased by 24.0% year-on-year to 158.2 billion yen, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline. Production has declined for the fourth consecutive quarter, dropping by 25.0% to 162.6 billion yen, the largest quarterly decline in nearly 10 years. And neither data shows any signs of bottoming out.
The total shipment amount decreased by 21.5% year-on-year to 173.2 billion yen; The total shipment volume decreased by 31.7% year-on-year to 45535 units, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline. The main reason for the decline is that the shipment volume to the Japanese automotive industry has slightly decreased, but the overall semiconductor industry is sluggish, and the shipment volume to the motor industry has significantly decreased.
The total export value decreased by 27.3% year-on-year to 120.2 billion yen, and the export quantity decreased by 36.5% year-on-year to 29772 units. In addition to the lack of motivation for exports to China, the total amount of exports to the welding industry has also significantly decreased.
In the context of various risks, such as the COVID-19 and geopolitical tensions, the global demand for automation continues to expand. However, future investment in certain applications and uncertainty in the global economy will continue to seriously affect growth prospects.