Factory Automation Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031F

Industrial Robots is the fastest growing sector, Asia-Pacific is the largest market

The Global Factory Automation Market is projected to expand from USD 347.86 Billion in 2025 to USD 551.40 Billion by 2031, reflecting a CAGR of 7.98%. This sector involves the convergence of industrial robots, control systems, and information technologies to handle manufacturing processes with significantly reduced human involvement. Growth is primarily fuelled by the urgent need for operational efficiency and the alleviation of extensive labor shortages, forcing manufacturers to implement automated solutions to ensure precision and continuity. According to the International Federation of Robotics, the global stock of operational industrial robots hit a record high of over 4.2 million units in 2024, a trajectory bolstered by requirements for consistent quality and supply chain resilience in high-volume settings.

Conversely, high capital expenditure demands create considerable obstacles for market entry and growth, despite the operational advantages. Small and medium-sized enterprises frequently face difficulties managing the substantial upfront expenses needed to acquire and integrate sophisticated software and hardware systems. These financial hurdles are further aggravated by ongoing maintenance costs and a severe scarcity of skilled personnel qualified to manage intricate automated infrastructures.

Market Drivers

Rising labor expenses and a severe lack of skilled workers are accelerating the Global Factory Automation Market as manufacturers urgently seek to preserve production continuity. Confronted with mounting wage pressures and an aging industrial workforce, companies are increasingly depending on automated systems to offset human resource gaps and guarantee consistent results. This pattern is especially visible in sectors that have historically relied on manual labor but are now turning to robotics to ensure supply chain resilience. As reported by the Association for Advancing Automation in February 2025, robot orders within the food and consumer goods industry jumped by 65% in 2024, a surge directly linked to the need to mitigate labor shortages and optimize supply chains.

At the same time, the swift adoption of Industry 4.0 and Artificial Intelligence ecosystems is converting standard machinery into smart, self-optimizing assets. This technological advancement facilitates real-time process adjustments and predictive maintenance, drastically cutting down on operational waste and downtime. Manufacturers are progressing beyond simple connectivity to implement advanced AI agents that make autonomous decisions to boost productivity. According to a Google Cloud report from October 2025, 56% of manufacturing executives stated their organizations utilize AI agents for operational efficiency, while ABB reported in January 2025 that orders rose 6% year-on-year to $8.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting strong demand for automation infrastructure.

Market Challenges

The acute scarcity of skilled personnel functions as a major hindrance to the growth of the factory automation sector. Although automated systems decrease the need for manual labor, they simultaneously generate a specialized requirement for a workforce competent in programming, operating, and maintaining sophisticated infrastructure. When manufacturers are unable to recruit qualified technicians or engineers, they frequently delay or abandon plans to adopt new technologies, fearing operational downtime resulting from insufficient internal expertise to resolve technical failures or system errors.

This workforce constraint directly influences strategic investment choices and retards the general adoption rate of industrial robotics. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, approximately 65 percent of manufacturers surveyed in 2024 identified the inability to attract and retain staff as their primary business hurdle. This enduring talent gap compels companies to function below their potential capacity and restricts their ability to fully utilize automated solutions, causing a deceleration in market growth as the divide between available technology and human technical capability increases.

Market Trends

The implementation of Private 5G Networks for Ultra-Low Latency Connectivity is transforming communication infrastructure within automated facilities. In contrast to legacy wired connections or Wi-Fi, private 5G offers the high bandwidth and deterministic reliability essential for mission-critical applications, such as real-time remote control of heavy machinery and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). This technology removes physical cabling constraints, enabling highly reconfigurable production layouts that adapt quickly to shifting product specifications. As noted by RCR Wireless News in January 2025, Nokia secured 55 new private wireless customers in the fourth quarter of 2024, underscoring the industry's rapid move toward cellular-grade connectivity.

The expansion of Collaborative Robots (Cobots) in Shared Workspaces marks a definitive shift from traditional, isolated automation to safe human-robot collaboration. Cobots are designed with intuitive programming interfaces and advanced force-limiting sensors, allowing them to work alongside humans without requiring extensive safety cages. This feature enables manufacturers to automate high-mix, low-volume tasks such as quality inspection, sanding, and assembly, which were previously too costly for standard industrial robots. According to the Association for Advancing Automation in September 2025, North American companies acquired 1,052 collaborative robots valued at $39.2 million in the first quarter of 2025, highlighting the increasing reliance on these flexible units for diverse operational needs.

Key Market Players

• Honeywell International Inc.
• Siemens AG
• ABB Ltd.
• Rockwell Automation Inc.
• Schneider Electric SE
• Emerson Electric Co.
• Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Omron Corporation
• Bosch Rexroth AG
• Yokogawa Electric Corporation

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Factory Automation Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

Factory Automation Market, by Component:

• Sensors
• Controllers
• Industrial Robots
• Drives
• Others

Factory Automation Market, by Control and Safety System:

• Distributed Control System
• Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA)
• Manufacturing Execution System (MES)
• Systems Instrumented System (SIS)
• Others

Factory Automation Market, by Industry Verticals:

• Automotive Manufacturing
• Food & Beverage
• Oil & Gas Processing
• Mining
• Others

Factory Automation Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Factory Automation Market.

Available Customizations:

With the given market data, the publisher offers customizations according to a company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

Company Information

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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