10 Industrial and Service Robotics Trends in the IFR’s World Robotics 2021 Report Photo Robotics 24/7

The International Federation of Robotics has released its annual report on global robotics shipments from 2020, and it expects strong growth to continue despite the pandemic.

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U.K. labor shortage, tax incentives boost robotics

In the U.K., robot installations increased by 8% to 2,205 units. Its automotive industry grew by 16% to 875 units, representing 40% of the U.K.‘s adoption.

Automation in the U.K.‘s food and beverage industry almost doubled, from 155 units in 2019 to 304 units in 2020. That industry, which has relied on foreign workers from Eastern Europe and elsewhere, is now facing a serious labor shortage.

With continued travel restrictions and the so-called Brexit, British demand for robots will continue grow at two-digit percentage rates in 2021 and 2022, said the IFR.

The U.K. is also offering tax incentives to modernize its manufacturing base. Still, the newly installed 2,205 units in the U.K. is about one-tenth the 22,302 units shipped in Germany, about four times less than Italy’s 8,525 units, and less than half the 5,368 robots shipped in France.

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