Robotics market
Metal and machinery is the #3 robot industry: 16% of 2024 installs
Metal and machinery took 16% of the world's robot installations in 2024, its share up 2 percentage points. That put it third among customer industries, behind electronics and automotive.
The figures come from IFR's World Robotics 2025. Out of 542,076 robots installed in 2024, electronics led at 24% and automotive followed at 23%, with metal and machinery close behind and gaining.
The trap is treating these shares as fixed, or reading a rising share as a booming sector. Shares move as the whole market moves. This page traces each number and shows what the shift does and does not mean.
Data covers IFR World Robotics 2025, customer-industry shares of global installations, 2024. Published 2026-07-22. Last reviewed 2026-07-22. Last updated 2026-07-22. Edited by Mike Ramsey / Reliable Media.
The figures and where they come from
Each figure is rated for how safely you can cite it today. Ratings judge current usability, not whether a number was ever correct.
| Figure | What it is | Source | Citation Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16% of installs | Metal & machinery share (2024) | [A] | High | Metal and machinery's share of global robot installations in 2024, up 2 points, its third-place finish. Installations in the sector also rose 16% to a new peak, a separate measure that shares the same number. |
| 542,076 robots | Global installations (2024) | [A] | High | Total industrial robots installed worldwide in 2024, the denominator behind the industry shares. |
| 24% of installs | Electronics share (2024) | [A] | High | Electrical/electronics was the largest customer industry in 2024, up 1 point, reclaiming the lead from automotive. |
| 23% of installs | Automotive share (2024) | [A] | High | Automotive slipped to second at 23%, down 2 points, as EV-related demand cooled. |
| 5% of installs | Plastic & chemical share (2024) | [A] | Medium | Plastic and chemical products, fourth among named industries in 2024, ahead of food and beverage at 4%. Shown for scale against the top three. |
| 14% of installs | Unspecified industry (2024) | [A] | Medium | For 14% of 2024 installations, down 3 points, IFR has no customer-industry information. This uncoded slice is why the shares should be read as approximate. |
Why the numbers disagree
Share versus volume. A rising share can happen while total installations are flat or falling, because share is relative to the whole market. Metal and machinery's share rose 2 points and its own installs hit a new peak, but read the share as relative, not absolute.
Which ranking. Electronics (24%) and automotive (23%) trade the top spot year to year, and in 2024 electronics reclaimed the lead. Cite the year, because the order changes.
The uncoded slice. IFR has no industry information for 14% of 2024 installs, so the named shares sit on top of a large unclassified block and should be read as approximate.
How to cite these figures
Cite it with the year and source: metal and machinery was the third-largest robot customer industry in 2024 at 16% of installations, per IFR World Robotics 2025.
Give the top three together for context: electronics 24%, automotive 23%, metal and machinery 16%, out of 542,076 installs.
Note the 2-point rise as a share gain, and, if you want the absolute, that sector installations rose 16% to a record. Keep the two claims distinct.
Where people go wrong
Reading a 16% share as 16% growth. They are different measures, even though both happen to be 16% for metal and machinery in 2024.
Presenting the industry shares as exact when 14% of installs are uncoded.
Assuming automotive still leads. Electronics reclaimed first place in 2024, and the two have switched several times.
How we checked
The figures trace to the IFR World Robotics 2025 Industrial Robots executive summary (PDF). We confirmed 16%, 542,076, 24%, 23%, 5%, 4%, and 14% appear in that document before publishing.
We took the customer-industry shares from the report's 2024 breakdown: electronics 24%, automotive 23%, metal and machinery 16%, plastic and chemical 5%, food and beverage 4%, and 14% unspecified.
We kept share and volume claims separate. Where IFR reports the sector both as 16% of installs and as up 16% to a new peak, we flag that these are two different measures that share a number.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]International Federation of Robotics (IFR)2025
World Robotics 2025 Industrial Robots, Executive Summary
https://ifr.org/img/worldrobotics/Executive_Summary_WR_2025_Industrial_Robots.pdf
Common questions
- What is the third-largest robot customer industry?
- Metal and machinery, at 16% of global robot installations in 2024, per IFR World Robotics 2025. Its share rose 2 points, behind electronics and automotive.
- Which industry installs the most robots?
- Electrical/electronics led in 2024 at 24% of installations, reclaiming the top spot from automotive, which was 23%. The two have switched places several times.
- How many robots were installed worldwide in 2024?
- 542,076, the second-highest annual total on record, per IFR. The industry shares are slices of that total.
- Why do the shares not add to 100% cleanly?
- Because IFR has no customer-industry information for 14% of 2024 installs. The named shares sit on top of that uncoded block, so treat them as approximate.
More data, traced to source
- Electronics passed automotive as the top robot buyer in 2024
In 2024 the electronics industry took 24% of new robot installations and automotive 23%, so electronics was the largest customer industry again. The margin was thin. This page traces the split.
- Where the world's new robots go: by region and by industry
Asia takes 74% of the world's new robot installations, Europe 16%, the Americas 9%. Within the US, automotive leads at 13,700 of 34,300 units. Where robots actually go, traced to source.