Industrial Robotics to Spark Labor Savings in Big Export Nations

Investment in industrial robotics will jump over the next decade, boosting productivity as more robots replace human workers, according to new research by Boston Consulting Group. BCG finds that investment in industrial robotics will jump from 2% to 3% a year to around 10% a year in the world's 25-biggest export nations through 2025. As a result, the total cost of manufacturing labor in 2025 could be 16% lower than it would be otherwise. BCG says the biggest gains in labor savings will occur in nations at the forefront of industrial robotics, like South Korea, China, the U.S., Japan and Germany. Declining costs and better performance of robotics are driving the takeoff.