Keywords
Citation
(2001), "The first quarter shipment of Japanese industrial robot declined", Industrial Robot, Vol. 28 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2001.04928fab.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited
The first quarter shipment of Japanese industrial robot declined
The first quarter shipment of Japanese industrial robot declined
Keywords: Japan, Robots
On 16 May, the Japanese Robot Association (JARA) published production/shipment statistics of the Japanese robot industry, which shows a sudden big decline. The total shipment for the first quarter 2001 amounted to 111,100 million yen (ca $900 million), which is a decrease by 15.1 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2000. The decrease is the first since the fourth quarter of 1999 after continuous growth of eight quarters. The slump is due to the decrease in capital investment in information technology-related industries like the semiconductor industry.
Incoming orders for the first quarter have also decreased to 85,100 yen (ca $700 million) which is a 38.5 per cent decrease and production is down 9.6 per cent, 116,300 yen (ca. $900 million). The slump of parts-insertion/assembling machines was the major cause of the sudden decline. The industry sources predict that no quick recovery is to be seen although demand for robots is still sound in the automotive industry.
(Note: The statics of JARA includes electronic parts insertion/assembling machines, which are not regarded as "robots" by foreign definition.)