Autonomous Retrofits and OEM Vertical Expansion Will Pave the Way for Complete Site Automation in Construction, Mining, and Agriculture
The automation of off-highway equipment has experienced rapid development in the past 3 years. Globally, the total amount of autonomous off-highway equipment in operation more than doubled to reach approximately 1,700 units in 2022, from approximately 800 in 2021.
North America is one of the major off-highway automation hubs, with several pilots in place and a degree of commercial adoption that has attracted autonomous solution providers, startups, and suppliers to cater to customer bases in mining, urban construction, and high-value crop plantations.
As the demand for process automation increases in construction and agriculture, the analyst expects increasing adoption of autonomous equipment starting with smaller machinery segments in the short term, and later leaning into larger machinery. With a total off-highway equipment volume (in operation) of approximately 7.9 million units, the United States holds strong potential to become a global leader in terms of the autonomous equipment market. While the US stakeholders across all off-highway application areas (including construction, mining, and agriculture) are expected to ramp up the adoption of autonomous solutions, Canada is expected to become a key target market for autonomous mining solutions.
