Latest news with #InteractAnalysis
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Report: Interact Analysis cuts robot market growth forecast by $800M
Global supply chain automation analysts at Interact Analysis have lowered their projected growth for the mobile robot market by $800 million, citing shifts in global supply chains and heightened uncertainty, largely due to tariffs. The revised outlook, detailed in a May report, follows a previous adjustment by the firm, which had already lowered its short-term growth expectations for the mobile robot sector through 2027. That earlier report projected an 18% decline in growth over the next two years. According to a new report released this week by Ash Sharma, chief commercial officer at Interact Analysis, the mobile robot industry is 'currently undergoing a period of challenges and readjustment.' 'Our latest analysis presented an $800 million reduction in the 2025 market forecast, with lower growth predicted across all major regions,' Sharma wrote. 'This adjustment reflects a broader reassessment of the industry's growth trajectory, with the 2030 revenue projection now standing at $15.6 billion—down from our earlier, more optimistic estimates.' As a result of this revision, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the industry has dropped from 26% to 21% over the next five years. Despite the downturn, a 21% CAGR indicates that companies continue to invest significantly in automation technologies. Sharma attributes much of the slowdown to 'damaging global tariffs' imposed during the Trump administration, which have disrupted supply chains and introduced new uncertainty into capital investment planning. These uncertainties are now delaying decisions and putting large-scale automation investments at risk. 'The Global Economic Policy Uncertainty (GEPU) Index hit an all-time high of 430 in January 2025,' Sharma noted. 'This level of uncertainty surpasses that seen during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, many companies are adopting a 'wait-and-see' approach, delaying strategic investments in warehouse automation and infrastructure.' The report identifies several robot categories particularly affected by tariffs, including: Automated guided vehicle (AGV) conveyors and material transport robots: Shipment growth between 2025 and 2030 is now projected at 4%, down from 6%, due to a weakened economy and lower automotive sector demand. Large-form autonomous mobile robot (AMR) conveyors: Shipments are expected to decline by 15–20%, with a slight reduction also projected for smaller form factors. 'The message from Interact Analysis is clear: the mobile robot industry is still growing, but not as fast or as smoothly as once expected,' the report concludes. 'Tariffs, economic uncertainty, and shifting global dynamics are forcing companies to rethink their strategies and timelines. For stakeholders across the automation ecosystem—from vendors and integrators to end users and investors—this is a time for strategic patience and adaptability. The fundamentals of automation remain strong, but the path forward will require careful navigation.' The post Report: Interact Analysis cuts robot market growth forecast by $800M appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Mint
01-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Amazon is on the cusp of using more robots than humans in its warehouses
The automation of facilities is approaching a new milestone: There will soon be as many robots as humans. The e-commerce giant, which has spent years automating tasks previously done by humans in its facilities, has deployed more than one million robots in those workplaces, Amazon said. That is the most it has ever had and near the count of human workers at the facilities. Company warehouses buzz with metallic arms plucking items from shelves and wheeled droids that motor around the floors ferrying the goods for packaging. In other corners, automated systems help sort the items, which other robots assist in packaging for shipment. One of Amazon's newer robots, called Vulcan, has a sense of touch that enables it to pick items from numerous shelves. Amazon has taken recent steps to connect its robots to its order-fulfillment processes, so the machines can work in tandem with each other and with humans. 'They're one step closer to that realization of the full integration of robotics," said Rueben Scriven, research manager at Interact Analysis, a robotics consulting firm. Now some 75% of Amazon's global deliveries are assisted in some way by robotics, the company said. The growing automation has helped Amazon improve productivity, while easing pressure on the company to solve problems such as heavy staff turnover at its fulfillment centers. Mobile robots reposition package carts at the Amazon facility in Shreveport. For some Amazon workers, the increasing automation has meant replacing menial, repetitive work lifting, pulling and sorting with more skilled assignments managing the machines. 'I thought I was going to be doing heavy lifting, I thought I was going to be walking like crazy," said Neisha Cruz, who spent five years picking items at an Amazon warehouse in Windsor, Conn., before she was trained to oversee robotic systems. Today she sits in front of a computer screen in a Tempe, Ariz., office making sure mobile robots inside Amazon facilities across the U.S. are working properly. She earns about 2.5 times more pay than she did when she started at Amazon. Robots are also supplanting some employees, helping the company to slow hiring. Amazon employs about 1.56 million people overall, with the majority working in warehouses. The average number of employees Amazon had per facility last year, roughly 670, was the lowest recorded in the past 16 years, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis, which compared the company's reported workforce with estimates of its facility count. The number of packages that Amazon ships itself per employee each year has also steadily increased since at least 2015 to about 3,870 from about 175, the analysis found, an indication of the company's productivity gains. Some of Amazon's newer facilities, such as those built for same-day delivery, have 'smaller employee footprints and help us deliver with greater speed," a company spokesman said. Amazon is also rolling out artificial intelligence in its warehouses, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said recently, 'to improve inventory placement, demand forecasting, and the efficiency of our robots." Amazon said it will cut the size of its total workforce in the next several years. The second-largest private employer in the U.S., Amazon is a bellwether for a range of businesses automating work around the country. Its broad rollout of robots shows how technological advances are accelerating, transforming factory floors and rippling through labor markets. The company began introducing advanced robotics to its warehouses after it paid $775 million in 2012 to buy Kiva Systems, which made robots that ferried shelves of products around. Early on, robots moved large amounts of unpackaged items, a physically difficult task for a human to do. Over time, the machines began taking on even more challenging assignments, such as packaging, sorting products and lifting heavy items. Amazon's automation advances are on display at its 3-million-square-foot facility in Shreveport, La. There, more than six dozen robotic arms sort, stack and consolidate millions of items. Robots also zip carts of packages for loading onto trucks, help package customer paper bags for orders and transport products to be in position for packaging. One of the machines uses computer vision and small robotic arms. Robots perform several tasks working with humans. The robotic system that helps sort inventory moves products to an employee, who then picks the items that fill an order. Another reaches for hard-to-grab items inside shelves, with the supervision of a human worker. Products move 25% faster through the facility than at other sites. Amazon has trained more than 700,000 workers across the world for higher-paying jobs that can include working with robotics, the company said. The increased use of automation, including over a dozen robotic arms in Shreveport, has helped Amazon improve productivity. 'You have completely new jobs being created," such as robot technicians, said Yesh Dattatreya, senior applied scientist at Amazon Robotics. Warehouse workers are being trained in mechatronics and robotics apprenticeships. Dattatreya is leading a newly created Amazon team from the company's Bay Area innovation lab to put more advanced artificial-intelligence systems into its robotics. The goal, he said, is to turn future warehouse robots into assistants that can respond to verbal commands, such as to unload a trailer. Keshia Jenkins troubleshoots a stalled mobile robot at Amazon's Shreveport fulfillment center. Amazon has been testing a humanoid robot, its manufacturer Agility Robotics said. The robots, which have legs, arms and a head and have been tested with tasks such as recycling containers at Amazon, are still in research and development, Amazon said. Amazon Robotics Chief Technologist Tye Brady said in an interview that the company will continue to need many workers and that new robots are meant to make their jobs easier, not displace them. Sheheryar Kaoosji, executive director at the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, a nonprofit that advocates on the behalf of warehouse employees, said robotics haven't changed jobs as much in smaller Amazon sites as in large fulfillment centers to date. Yet Kaoosji expressed concern about the longer-term impact on employment. The company's 'dream is to have significant reduction of workforce in high-density facilities," he said. Write to Sebastian Herrera at
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GreyMatter by GreyOrange Recognized in Interact Analysis' Warehouse Software Market Insight Report
Interact Analysis predicts the warehouse automation software market will reach over $16 billion by 2030 ATLANTA, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GreyOrange Inc., a leader in AI-driven fulfillment automation, announces recognition of its GreyMatter hyper-intelligent warehouse orchestration in Interact Analysis' comprehensive report, Warehouse Software Market Insight. Authored by Interact Analysis Research Manager Rueben Scriven and Senior Analyst Irene Zhang, the report reveals key insights into the rapidly evolving warehouse software market, highlighting a projected CAGR of 12.7% from 2023 to 2030. Interact Analysis predicts the warehouse automation software market will reach over $16 billion by 2030. The report underscores the pivotal role of mobile robots in propelling growth within the fleet management system market. Their swift deployment, space efficiency compared to fixed automation, and flexible purchasing models, such as Robotics as a Service (RaaS), have accelerated the adoption of mobile robots - and the need for corresponding software. According to the report, 'To enhance operational efficiency in warehouses, implementing a Warehouse Execution System (WES) is likely to be considered a strategic choice.' 'With more disparate automation systems being used, along with more complex logistical processes, the need for fine-tuned orchestration and execution is becoming paramount to stay ahead of the curve,' said Rueben Scriven, Research Manager, Interact Analysis. 'Being able to orchestrate fixed automation, mobile automation, and manual operations, GreyMatter is a true Warehouse Execution System.' In alignment with this concept, GreyMatter's hyper-intelligent warehouse orchestration is at the forefront of this software revolution. GreyMatter is designed to solve critical warehouse operation challenges. It seamlessly supports both fixed automation and robotics while maintaining exceptional reliability as agent numbers grow. With advanced functional areas like Fulfillment Engine, Inventory in Motion, and Integrated Automation, GreyMatter ensures precise and efficient operational orchestration. 'The recognition of GreyMatter's value to the industry by Interact Analysis is a nod to the commitment of GreyOrange to producing competitive advantages for our customers,' said Akash Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO, GreyOrange. 'GreyMatter's capability to operate across various facility types, flex up and down according to inventory levels and demand, and provide agnostic multiagent orchestration for robotic and human labor differentiates the WES, and prepares companies today with solutions for future needs.' Download the Warehouse Software Market Insight report, compliments of GreyOrange here. Learn more about GreyOrange's GreyMatter by visiting Interact Analysis, Warehouse Software Market Insight 2025, Rueben Scriven and Irene Zhang; January 2025 About Interact AnalysisInteract Analysis is the leading authority on the warehouse automation market. With analysts located across the world including the US, China, UK, and Germany, Interact Analysis helps its clients stay ahead of the curve with its high quality research and analysis. About GreyOrangeGreyOrange Inc. is at the forefront of AI-driven robotics systems, transforming distribution and fulfillment centers worldwide. Its emphasis on orchestration, innovation, and customer satisfaction marks a new era in efficient, responsive supply chain solutions. The company's solutions offer a competitive advantage by increasing productivity, empowering growth and scale, mitigating labor challenges, reducing risk and time to market, and creating better experiences for customers and employees. Founded in 2012, GreyOrange is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices and partners across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit Media ContactLeah R H Robinson, APRLeadCoverageleah@ photo accompanying this announcement is available at in to access your portfolio
