Material Handling Claims Nearly 70% of North American Robot Orders

Nearly 70% of North American robot orders in the second quarter of this year were for material handling applications, according to data from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) — the clearest signal yet that warehousing and logistics, not the traditional automotive sector, is now driving the robotics market.

North American robot orders reached their highest level since the 2022 record boom last year and have continued climbing through 2026. Strong orders from the semiconductor and electronics, pharmaceutical, and food and beverage industries offset declining orders among automotive buyers in the first half of the year, A3 reports.

"The numbers keep getting stronger," said Aaron Prather, A3's director of market intelligence. "Automotive is down, but even with that, the industry is doing great — and it's really because of the diversification. So many different industries are adding automation and robotics."

The shift carries commercial weight for shippers and 3PLs: as material handling robots approach seven in ten units sold, automation vendors are redirecting sales capacity toward logistics facilities, and warehouse operators that lag on adoption risk a widening productivity gap against competitors that automate picking, replenishment and internal transport.

How big is the logistics slice globally?

The North American numbers track a global pattern. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR), in a report released earlier this fall, found that nearly half of all professional service robots sold in 2025 — 117,500 units out of roughly 250,000 shipped worldwide — went to transportation and logistics uses. That translates to year-over-year shipment growth of 21% for logistics robots and 24% for professional service robots overall.

IFR says the machines handle transportation, automate material flows and run delivery processes, and that the growth reflects robots becoming a routine part of everyday work rather than an experimental purchase.

Why are buyers signing now?

Carson Menke, sales manager at Rocrich AGV Solutions — a joint venture between material handling equipment companies Logisnext Americas and Jungheinrich — describes the industry as reaching a "maturing point" in which customers trust the technology enough to invest at scale.

"More [companies] are starting to look at [robotics] as an option, and a lot more people are closing in on that and investing in these technologies," Menke said, citing pharmaceutical companies, third-party logistics providers, food and beverage businesses and automotive firms as the key adopters he sees in 2026.

Labor remains the primary trigger. "Labor is the major issue that a lot of companies are [trying to address]," he said. "They may have an inability to staff a facility or to [run] a third shift — and the cost associated with that labor is something companies are looking to reduce."

Trust, meanwhile, is being built on visible proof. Menke said showing prospects Rocrich automated guided vehicles at work in other facilities has become a natural step in the sales cycle: "They can see the success that others have realized. They're seeing that it's real."

Repeat orders make the case most forcefully. Prather points to a recent announcement from warehouse robotics developer Hai Robotics, which received a repeat order for 1,500 HaiPick rack-climbing autonomous mobile robots from an unnamed European fashion retailer. The retailer will deploy them in a distribution center exceeding 300,000 square feet.

"The client is [already] using the technology, and they've come back and bought even more," Prather said. "That's a good sign that they like the technology and they want to use it. My team will be watching more of these second orders — because it shows the technology has proven itself and is selling itself."

What problem does automation actually solve?

Art Eldred, senior vice president of sales and software at material handling conglomerate LaFayette Systems, frames the demand in bluntly universal terms. "We're solving for space, accuracy, labor, and throughput — and that's common across warehousing," he said. "It's the same problem everywhere. And, as a society, we want things tomorrow when we order."

LaFayette added the Attabotics cube-based automated storage and retrieval system to its portfolio in 2025, purchasing the technology out of bankruptcy and rebuilding it with a heavier software focus. Eldred argues the industry's biggest failure point is not the robots themselves but integration: coordinating labor, workflow, equipment and software so automation fits the orchestration of the building rather than operating as a silo.

"The biggest mistake supply chain folks are making [is not understanding] how to integrate new technologies into the overall operational processes," he said, comparing the challenge to the Lean manufacturing wave of past decades, when companies optimized picking but neglected shipping and replenishment.

Will the momentum hold into 2027?

All three experts expect continued growth. "We're going to keep seeing an upward trend this year," Prather said. "Unless something dramatic changes in the economy, we still see 2026 coming in as a great year. It probably won't rival 2022, but it could get close."

Menke notes that automation sales cycles typically run 12 to 14 months, which means 2027 pipelines are being built now. "Given where things are now, it's [pointing to] a strong 2027," he said. Eldred agrees, calling robotics "the shining star of the industry" with activity for next year already running high.