- Census Bureau’s latest data from the Annual Capital Expenditures Survey finds that robotic equipment purchases made up just 0.7 percent of all business equipment expenditures in 2019
- The retail, manufacturing, and health care and social assistance sectors accounted for the vast majority of these purchases
- Manufacturing accounted for nearly two-thirds of all robotic equipment purchases
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
Robotic equipment accounted for just a fraction of all business equipment expenditures in 2019, according to the Census Bureau’s latest data from the Annual Capital Expenditures Survey. Most of these investments were concentrated in manufacturing, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of all spending.
While $7.52 billion was spent on robotic equipment in 2019, this made up only 0.7 percent of all equipment expenditures. Manufacturing, retail trade, and health care and social assistance together accounted for 87.3 percent of all robotic equipment expenditures during the year.
- Manufacturing companies bought 65.7 percent of all robotic equipment purchased by businesses in 2019
- General medical and surgical hospitals accounted for 80.7 percent of robotic equipment purchases in the health care and social assistance sector, buying $427 million worth of equipment
- The Census Bureau has measured robotic equipment expenditures since 2018 due to increasing interest in the topic by researchers, members of Congress, and others
