North American companies ordered 10,989 robots valued at $723.5 million in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, orders grew 24.8% by unit volume and 26.1% by value, making it the strongest quarter of the year so far, the organization said.

The quarterly increase brought orders for the first nine months of 2026 to 28,984 robots, worth approximately $1.89 billion. That represents year-over-year growth of 9.6% in units and 13.3% in value, A3 reported.

Automotive OEM orders returned to year-over-year growth in Q3 after declining during the first half of the year, rising 7.5%. Orders from automotive component suppliers climbed 90.4%. However, OEM orders remained 17% below their year-earlier level for the first nine months of 2026.

Other sectors also recorded substantial quarterly gains. Robot orders by unit volume increased 97.6% in semiconductors and electronics/photonics, 67.7% in plastics and rubber, 38.7% in life sciences, pharmaceuticals and biomedicine, and 37% in metals. Orders across all other industries edged up 0.5%, while food and consumer goods fell 23.7%.

A3 linked the electronics-sector increase to investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and demand for electronics used in AI and other applications. It also pointed to continued investment in domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing as a factor in life sciences demand.

Collaborative robots, also known as force- and power-limited robots, had a strong quarter. Companies ordered 1,831 units worth $63.8 million, an increase of about 56% in units from Q3 2025. Cobots made up 16.7% of all robots ordered in the quarter.

For the first nine months of 2026, North American companies ordered 4,605 cobots valued at approximately $178 million. They represented 15.9% of robot units and 9.4% of total order value. Cobots accounted for 43.8% of robot orders in life sciences, pharmaceuticals and biomedicine, and 36.9% in semiconductors and electronics/photonics during that period.

A3 said the stronger orders coincided with improving manufacturing activity. The September Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI registered 54.5, marking a ninth consecutive month of expansion, while the Federal Reserve reported that U.S. manufacturing output rose 0.3% in September. The organization identified higher input costs, trade uncertainty and the timing of large manufacturing projects as factors to watch.

Sources: The Robot Report.