Key Highlights
- Robot sales in the plastics industry declined in 2025 but showed signs of recovery in late 2025 and early 2026.
- U.S.-based robot manufacturing is gaining importance due to tariffs, supply chain delays, and cost advantages.
- Automation remains essential for plastics processors to address skilled labor shortages and global competition.
- AI integration into robots and cobots is beginning to enhance capabilities and support industry growth.
- The automotive sector’s increased robot orders could influence broader adoption in plastics processing, signaling a move toward modernization.
One way to find out about the health of the plastics processing industry is to ask a robot.
Let me rephrase that. R2-D2 won’t provide insightful economic analysis, but sales of industrial and collaborative robots are a useful barometer. When business is good or manufacturers think business is going to get better soon, they buy more robots.
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) tracks orders from North American manufacturers, including plastics and rubber processors, and reports the data quarterly.
The most recent report indicated unit orders rose 6.6 percent in 2025 over 2024 and revenue rose 10.1 percent.
For the plastics and rubber sector, unit orders declined 9 percent and revenue 14 percent compared with 2024.
We already knew that 2025 was a tough year for plastics processors, and I see this as another indicator that we are lagging behind manufacturing in general when it comes to modernizing our production floors and taking advantage of all the tools available to alleviate skilled labor shortages.
The fourth quarter showed signs of improvement. Overall sales were up 6.6 percent compared with the fourth quarter in 2024. For the plastics and rubber sector, overall sales were below the fourth quarter a year earlier but significantly better than the third quarter of 2025.
What does it mean? Alex Shikany, executive VP of A3, provided perspective: “2025 remained a challenging year overall for the [plastics and rubber] sector, but the fourth-quarter rebound suggests conditions improved somewhat heading into 2026.
“Across manufacturing, and very much including plastics and rubber, the need for automation remains structural,” Shikany told Lynne Sherwin, managing editor of Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing. “These companies continue to face persistent labor shortages, increasing global competition and growing pressure to reshore and modernize production. Automation remains one of the most effective tools they have to stay competitive under these conditions.”
Shikany said he still believes the long-term direction of the market is positive, but the timing keeps slipping.
The majority of robots used in the plastics industry are imported, but there are signs that may be changing. The Wittmann Group has invested heavily in robot production at its plant in Torrington, Conn. Ranger Automation has long built industrial robots in Millbury, Mass., and in December, Teradyne announced plans to build Universal Robots in Wixom, Mich.
At the K show last October, I heard some grumbling about imported robots costing more in the U.S. because of new tariffs. That is probably a symptom of the competitive cost pressures robot manufacturers face.
Sonny Morneault, president of Wittmann USA, said his sales were soft in January “but February has bounced back nicely for new orders and quote activity.”
Morneault thinks pent-up demand could boost sales later this year. “We think the robot market is going to be strong in 12 months, for the simple reason that we heard a lot of projects being put on hold last year that I think may stay delayed until later in the year and into 2027.
“We also know there is a huge market for replacement robots here in the States, but we think that projects will be delayed until later this year into next year, as well,” Morneault said.
Building robots in the U.S. is an advantage for Wittmann.
“As one of the only robot producers here in the states, we know tariffs and rising cost to import will, and already has, given us a competitive advantage,” Morneault said. “Not just on pricing and costing, but also on delivery. Ports are still seeing delays; ships are becoming harder to find so being built here gives us a significant advantage.
“We have had to find local sources for many components but have had decent success doing so and will continue to grow our U.S. content.”
The North American automotive industry probably holds the key to how quickly plastics processors buy more robots and cobots. Automotive OEM robot orders increased in 2025 while component and Tier supplier investment lagged, Shikany said. Plastics processors are solidly in the component and Tier category.
New robots and cobots are bigger and stronger and with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), getting smarter. Worldwide competition has kept prices low. The impact of AI is only just beginning to be felt in robots and particularly cobots.
“The intent to invest is still there; it’s simply playing out more gradually as the industry moves past the post-Covid reset and into its next growth phase,” Shikany said.
I hope he is right.
About the Author
Ron Shinn
Editor
Editor Ron Shinn is a co-founder of Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing and has been covering the plastics industry for more than 35 years. He leads the editorial team, directs coverage and sets the editorial calendar. He also writes features, including the Talking Points column and On the Factory Floor, and covers recycling and sustainability for PMM and Plastics Recycling.