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The robotics gap
China dominates global robotics deployment through sheer scale. It installed 295,000 industrial robots in 2024, and accounted for 54 percent of global deployments, according to the latest figures from the International Federation of Robotics. China’ s national robotics strategy has made automation central to its industrial future, giving its manufacturers a coordinated push the US has yet to match.
Leadership in robotics will require more than developing the best artificial intelligence. The advantage will belong to countries that manufacture the machines, supply their components and deploy them at scale.
China’ s investment stands in sharp contrast to adoption among smaller US manufacturers. Small job shops, fabricators and component manufacturers face tighter investment constraints and often lack the in-house expertise needed to automate at the same pace.
The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute estimates that just eight percent of small manufacturers use robots today.
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