New orders for the year totaled 16,129 robots valued at $1.06 billion, for gains of 25 percent in units and 16 percent in revenue, the RIA said. Shipments, meanwhile, increased by 10 percent in units to 14,410, while revenues rose by 4 percent to $965.1 million.
The bulk of the business came from U.S. manufacturers. North American companies purchased 14,838 robots in 2004, marking the industry’s second best unit total ever, the RIA said.
The 2004 results follow upon strong gains in 2003, when North American robot orders grew by 19 percent, the RIA pointed out.
