New applications have not yet sprouted

As an important transfer destination for labor-intensive industries in North America, Mexico’s manufacturing industry is more sensitive to the impact of economic fluctuations, industrial chain disruption and inflation in North America. At the same time, emerging industries such as logistics, agriculture and healthcare, which have shown rapid growth potential in other regions, are still in the early stages of development in Mexico and have not developed the need for automation. Therefore, in the case of the insufficient growth of the main driver – the automotive industry, and the emerging industry is not mature, the overall performance of the Mexican collaborative robot market in 2023 is weak, regrettably becoming the only region in the global collaborative robot market with negative growth.

IS200TRPAH2AHE Supply chain superimposed pressure

Based on interviews with local dealers and distributors, we learned that the Mexican robot market is extremely dependent on imports. Collaborative robots, as a representative of small batch shipments, whether the whole machine or parts, are affected by supply chain problems. Although the North American robot market rebounded in the fourth quarter of 2023, what the North American Robotics Association calls “sales growth” in its report should actually be considered “order growth” and therefore, this growth should be included in the 2024 results, not 2023. At the same time, we also observed that the Mexican robot market is more dependent on imports than North America, where there is robot manufacturing or assembly capacity, and Mexico is more affected by issues such as inflation and supply chain disruptions.

IS200TRPAH2AHE

Chinese manufacturers drive down average prices

On the other hand, because Chinese manufacturers have taken a certain share of the Mexican market, and the average price decline in the local market is higher than in other regions, so despite a slight increase in shipments of collaborative robots in Mexico in 2023, sales are showing negative growth.

Where is the “hope”?

IS200TRPAH2AHE With the exception of 2023, the Mexican market will grow faster than the rest of the world during the forecast period. While labor costs in Mexico are currently below the global average, they have surged nearly 300 percent in the last five years, according to Interact Analysis. In addition, the warehouse and factory construction boom driven by the nearshore outsourcing trend will also greatly promote local automation investment and robot demand.

As a dynamic emerging market, Mexico’s growth potential in the collaborative robot market over the next five years cannot be underestimated. Mexico’s share of the global market is expected to increase significantly by 2028, reaching 3.6%.