US companies installed more robots last year than ever before, as cheaper and more flexible machines put them within reach of businesses of all sizes and in more corners of the economy beyond their traditional foothold in car plants.
Shipments hit 28,478, nearly 16 percent more than in 2017, according to data seen by Reuters that was set for release on Thursday by the Association for Advancing Automation, an industry group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Shipments increased in every sector the group tracks, except automotive, where carmakers cut back after finishing a major round of tooling up for new truck models. (graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2VrzKzU)
Other sectors boomed. Shipments to food and consumer goods companies surged 60 percent compared to the year before. Shipments to semiconductor and electronics plants were up over 50 percent, while shipments to metal producers rose 13 percent.
Pressure to automate is growing as companies seek to cut labor costs in a tight job market. Many companies that are considering bringing work back from overseas in response to the Trump administration’s trade wars may find automation the best way to stay competitive, even with higher-cost US workers.
Bob Doyle, vice president of the Association for Advancing Automation, said automation is moving far beyond its traditional foothold in auto assembly plants and other large manufacturers into warehouses and smaller factories.
One of those is Metro Plastics Technologies Inc, a family-owned business in Noblesville, Indiana, which has only 125 employees and got its start in the 1970s making, among other things, mood rings. Last March, the company bought its first robot, an autonomous machine that carries finished parts from the production area to quality inspectors. In the past, that work was done by workers driving forklifts.
“We had three propane, 5,000-pound forklifts,” said Ken Hahn, the company’s president. “We’ve eliminated those.” Hahn’s robot cost $40,000, about twice that of the cheapest option he considered, but far below the $125,000 machines also on offer.
Last year marked the first time since 2010 that auto and auto part companies failed to account for more than half of shipments, coming at just under 49 percent instead, according to the report. In 2017, over 60 percent of shipments went to automakers.
“The food industry is really starting to take off” as a market for automation, said Dan Hasley, director of sales and marketing for Kawasaki Robotics (USA) Inc, part of Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries. He added that “food and beverage is one of the segments that really responds to tight labor markets.”
US companies put record number of robots to work in 2018
US companies put record number of robots to work in 2018
- Shipments hit 28,478, nearly 16 percent more than in 2017
- Pressure to automate is growing as companies seek to cut labor costs in a tight job market
Up to $600m in additional tariffs on Saudi exports to the US
RIYADH: Gulf exports have become targets of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which he raised from 10 percent to 15 percent on all countries.
The increase comes after the US Supreme Court ruled that the legal basis Trump had used to impose earlier tariffs was unlawful.
Previously, Gulf countries were among the few that had not raised their tariffs above 10 percent, while many other countries, most notably China, had already been subject to higher tariffs. However, with this latest increase, the Gulf states will be among those affected.
According to the financial analysis unit of Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper, Gulf exports to the US in 2024 amounted to about $26.2 billion, with Saudi Arabia accounting for roughly half of that, at $12.7 billion. These exports are subject to potential additional tariffs of SR637 million ($169 million).
It is likely that tariffs on Saudi exports will grow from $1.3 billion annually to $1.9 billion, a rise of 50 percent, following Trump’s recent increase.
Customs duties on Gulf exports will also increase, from $2.6 billion annually to $3.9 billion.
In 2024, Gulf exports are distributed as follows: $7.5 billion from the UAE, $1.8 billion from Qatar, and $1.6 billion from Kuwait, as well as $1.3 billion from Oman, and finally, $1.2 billion from Bahrain.
Gulf trade with the US in 2024 reached approximately $86 billion, comprised of $26.2 billion in exports and approximately $60 billion in imports, resulting in a Gulf trade deficit of $33.5 billion.
Trump responds to Supreme Court ruling
US President Donald Trump raised the global tariffs from 10 percent to 15 percent in response to the US Supreme Court ruling that his previous tariff implementation mechanism was unlawful.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account today: “As President of the US, I will, effective immediately, raise the global tariffs imposed on countries that have been taking advantage of the US for decades with impunity (until I took over!) to the legally permitted and tested level of 15 percent.”
Hours after the Supreme Court ruling on Feb. 20, Trump imposed a 10 percent global tariff on foreign goods, a move aimed at maintaining his trade agenda.
Trump had expressed his displeasure with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the tariffs imposed by his administration, asserting that the ruling would not restrict him. He vowed to impose tariffs far exceeding those struck down by the court, indicating that he had stronger alternatives to tariffs, raising questions about his future trade strategy.
The US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, undermining his signature economic policy and inflicting his biggest legal defeat since returning to the White House.
By a six-three vote, the court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority by invoking the federal emergency powers law to impose his reciprocal tariffs worldwide, in addition to targeted import duties that the administration claims are intended to combat fentanyl smuggling.
