Manufacturing Automation Statistics: USA 2025

Automation in manufacturing has made news headlines and been the subject of numerous studies and surveys in recent years, but the concept itself is not new. The first example of full automation in manufacturing dates back to the invention of a fully automated spinning mill driven by waterpower in 1771. We have come a long way since then, especially with the advent of AI and machine learning, which has brought both benefits and challenges to manufacturers in the USA.

To better understand automation in the US manufacturing industry, we leveraged AI-driven audience profiling to synthesize insights from 85,975 manufacturing leaders to a high statistical confidence level over the 12 months to April 14, 2025. This is what their opinions revealed.

Index

• 93% of US manufacturing leaders agree following industry trends influences their approach to adopting new technology

• 55% of production processes are currently automated

• 40% of manufacturing leaders have automation plans for the next year

• For 41%, meeting customer demand is the primary goal when implementing automation

• 42% agree that inventory and logistics would benefit the most from further automation

• System integration importance averages at 20%, ranging from extremely important to important  

• For 31%, real time data access from automated systems is very important

• High upfront costs are a barrier to automation adoption for 52%

• 54% of manufacturing leaders are confident or neutral about their team's ability to adopt automation tools

• 80% implement training to teach staff to use new automated systems

• 87% said their businesses are located in multiple regions

• Methodology

How Would You Describe Your Company’s Approach To Adopting New Technology?

93% of US manufacturing leaders agree following industry trends influences their approach to adopting new technology

Take a look at how varied company approaches to adopting new technology can be:

Different companies have varying approaches to adopting new technologies, with some being more open to them than others. The overwhelming majority of US manufacturing leaders (93%) said that their company’s approach was determined by industry trends. 

These trends can encourage responses that range from enthusiastically proactive to more cautious and conservative, which may be reflected in the rate at which businesses adopt new technologies. That said, the size of a company may also be an influencing factor when it comes to company responses to these technologies. For example, US Chamber of Commerce research revealed a more enthusiastic response among small businesses, with 81% of those surveyed planning to increase their use of technology platforms and 77% to adopt emerging technologies. 

As for the rest of our audience’s company approaches to new technology adoption, 5% said theirs was conservative and risk-averse, while 1% said their companies were cautiously forward-thinking. This highlights how the main driver behind most companies' technology adoption is less about internal culture and more about staying competitive within industry trends.

How Would You Rate The Current Level Of Automation In Your Production Processes?

55% of production processes are currently automated 

The level of automation in different organizations in the US varies greatly:

At 55%, slightly more than half of manufacturing leaders said that their company’s production processes were automated, while 17% said their processes were fully automated. Taken together, these two segments comprise the majority of our audience. Automation levels in production processes were varied for the rest of the manufacturing leaders we surveyed, with 15% describing the level as mostly automated and 14% saying their processes were minimally automated. Conversely, less than 1% said theirs were moderately automated, showing just how integral automation has become to production processes.

The level of automation in the US manufacturing industry is set to increase significantly in the coming years. In 2023, the manufacturing automation market size was estimated at $3.33 billion. This is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% from 2024 to 2030. One of the reasons for this expected growth is the severe skills gap facing the industry. Deloitte reported that the sector is expected to need approximately 3.8 million new workers by 2033, with as many as half of these positions remaining unfilled due to a lack of qualified applicants.

What Best Describes Your Automation Plans For The Next 12 Months?

40% of manufacturing leaders have automation plans for the next year

Every manufacturing company’s plans for automation differ to some degree:

40% of manufacturing leaders said their companies have plans for automation over the next 12 months, but did not go into detail about them. 36% said that their plans included moderate upgrades, while 23% said their companies plan to expand their level of automation significantly. 1% said their companies weren’t planning to postpone their plans, and the same percentage said they would maintain their current level.

These plans are reflected in the increase in the number of robots ordered by US manufacturers. According to the Association for Advancing Automation, North American companies spent $1.963 billion on 31,311 robots in 2024, with 8,277 of these orders (valued at $506 million) placed in the fourth quarter. Orders from food and consumer goods manufacturers increased by 65%.

What Is Your Primary Goal When Implementing Automation?

For 41%, meeting customer demand is the primary goal when implementing automation

Take a closer look at our audience’s reasons for implementing automation in their manufacturing companies:

In every industry, manufacturing included, one of the basic laws of business is supply and demand. Unsurprisingly, 41% of our audience said that their companies were implementing automation with the goal of meeting customer demand for their products. For 30%, the goal is to boost output and efficiency, and for half of that (15%), the goal is to reduce labor costs. These goals are far from being unrealistic. Studies have found that automation has the potential to increase manufacturing-based productivity by as much as 30% and that it can reduce costs by 15 to 20%. 

For the rest of our audience, 14% said their primary goal when implementing automation is to enhance worker safety, while 2% said their goal was to improve quality and consistency. Many workers appreciate automation’s potential to improve safety. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology report revealed that 45% of workers had positive expectations regarding how new technologies can improve their safety at work. 

Which Part Of Your Operations Would Benefit Most From Further Automation?

42% agree that inventory and logistics would benefit the most from further automation 

Automation can benefit various operations in the manufacturing industry. Find out what our audience thinks below:

Automation can benefit various aspects of manufacturing organizations’ operations. A little less (42%) of US manufacturing leaders think that their inventory and logistics operations would benefit the most from automation. They may well be right, if Amazon’s experience is anything to go by. The retailer used 200,000 robots in its fulfillment centers in 2024, resulting in an almost 100% order accuracy and a 30% reduction in order processing times.

Inventory and logistics are not the only areas our audience thinks will benefit the most from automation. 33% said their quality assurance operations would benefit the most, while 18% expect the greatest benefits in equipment maintenance. Automation has significant potential when it comes to equipment maintenance. A recent study found that proactive maintenance strategies can lower maintenance costs, reduce downtime by 30 to 50%, and improve overall equipment effectiveness.

4% of our audience said that their organization’s administrative processes would benefit the most from automation, while 2% said their greatest benefits would be seen in packaging and distribution. This suggests that while inventory and logistics are seen as the top areas for automation gains in manufacturing, leaders also recognize their potential to transform quality assurance, maintenance, and even administrative tasks, pointing to a broad appetite for operational efficiency across the board.

How Important Is System Integration When Selecting New Automation Tools?

System integration importance averages at 20%, ranging from extremely important to important  

Opinions on the importance of system integration when choosing new automation tools vary. Discover what our audience thinks about this topic:

While our audience disagreed about the importance of system integration when selecting new automation tools, they were equally divided in their opinions. 

20% said system integration is very important, while another 20% said it was only slightly important. A further 20% said it was moderately important, and yet another 20% described it as important. The remaining 20% of the audience said system integration was very important.

How Critical Is Having Real-Time Data Access From Your Automated Systems?

For 31%, real time data access from automated systems is very important

The majority of our audience had strong opinions about automated systems having access to real-time data:

Almost a third of manufacturing leaders (31%) said that real-time data access for automated systems was very important, while a similar segment (31%) said it was only somewhat important. 24% described it as absolutely critical, while 8% disagreed, saying it wasn’t absolutely critical. 

Only 6% of the audience said it was important. 

This shows that while opinions vary, a clear majority of respondents see real-time data access for automated systems as important to some degree, highlighting its growing relevance in automation strategies.

What Is The Biggest Barrier To Adopting New Automation Solutions?

High upfront costs are a barrier to automation adoption for 52%

Almost every manufacturing company in the USA has barriers to the adoption of new automation solutions:

52% of manufacturing leaders say that high upfront costs are the biggest barrier to adopting new solutions for automation. For 42%, the biggest barrier wasn’t the upfront costs, but the uncertainties regarding the expected return on investment (ROI). The remaining 5% said that system integration issues were their biggest barrier.

Some of these sentiments are shared by others. A survey conducted in 2024 found that 29% of those surveyed said that financial concerns were their main obstacle to implementing AI-driven automation solutions in the workplace. 23% said their biggest obstacles were data privacy and security concerns, 21% said their biggest barrier was integration with existing systems, and 15% said the lack of clear use cases or measurable ROI was their main obstacle. 

How Confident Are You In Your Team’s Ability To Adopt New Automation Tools?

54% of manufacturing leaders are confident or neutral about their team's ability to adopt automation tools 

The graph below illustrates how confident our audience is regarding their team’s ability to use new automation tools successfully:

Surveying the social media responses of US manufacturing leaders, we found that 54% were confident or neutral about their teams’ ability to adopt new automation tools, and 42% said they were confident despite the concerns they had. 2% said they either were or weren’t confident, while 1% said they were very confident in their teams’ abilities. Another 1% said they were somewhat confident that their team could adopt new automation tools successfully.

This shows that most US manufacturing leaders have a generally positive outlook on their teams’ ability to adopt new automation tools. A combined majority expresses confidence, even if tempered by concerns, indicating cautious optimism rather than certainty.

How Do You Currently Train Staff To Use New Automated Systems?

80% implement training to teach staff to use new automated systems

While our entire audience said that staff are trained to use new systems, they don’t all have the same approach to training:

Our audience of manufacturing leaders has very different approaches to training staff to use new automated systems. A vast majority (80%) said they had implemented training, while just 14% said they relied on peer-led training. 5% said they offered staff minimal formal training, and only 1% said their staff received vendor-led training. It’s worth noting that recent research found that workers who were exposed to substitution by automation were 15% less likely to participate in training than those who were not. 

These findings suggest that, while most manufacturing leaders recognize the importance of training for automation, there’s still a significant gap in structured, expert-led approaches.

What Factors Matter Most When Evaluating Automation Vendors?

Ease of integration matters most to 39% of our audience

Our audience has different priorities when it comes to evaluating automation vendors:

Given the concerns about integration with existing systems mentioned earlier, it’s understandable that 39% of manufacturing leaders said that ease of integration was the factor that mattered most when evaluating automation vendors. However, for 31% of our audience, flexibility and scalability were their priority. 22% said vendor reputation and reliability were the most important factors, while 8% said they paid the most attention to total cost and ROI. For 2% of our audience, the quality of customer support was the factor that mattered most.

Ultimately, these insights reveal that while ease of integration tops the list, manufacturing leaders are weighing a mix of technical compatibility, long-term adaptability, and trust in vendor relationships, underscoring the multifaceted considerations that drive automation investment decisions.

Where Is Your Business Primarily Located?

87% said their businesses are located in multiple regions

Manufacturing leaders from around the US comprised our audience:

87% of manufacturing leaders in the US work for organizations based in multiple regions of the country, while 6% said their business was primarily in the southern United States. 4% said they were based in the western US, and 3% were based in the Midwest. Less than 1% operate primarily from the Northeastern United States.

This regional split reflects where manufacturing can operate most efficiently. Areas with lower costs, better logistics, and more available space tend to attract more activity. Northeast’s higher costs and limited industrial space likely make it less appealing to large-scale manufacturing operations.

Entering An Automated Future 

Already showing promising results, automation has the potential to transform the USA’s manufacturing industry in various ways. In addition to streamlining manufacturing processes, it can simplify tasks ranging from administration to inventory control and logistics, and reduce labor and maintenance costs and downtime. 

However, implementing these new technologies is not without obstacles, such as high initial costs and system integration issues. As time goes by, it’s highly likely that some of these challenges will be minimized, enabling more businesses to adopt automation tools. With skills shortages looming, it’s also likely that some organizations will be forced to adopt automation to survive. How this all plays out remains to be seen. 

Methodology

This data was sourced from an independent sample of 85,975 USA manufacturing leaders discussing operational strategy, automation, compliance, and supply chain management on platforms including X, Quora, Reddit, TikTok, and Threads. Responses are collected within a 65% confidence interval and an 8% margin of error. Engagement estimates reflect how many individuals in each manufacturing region actively participate in industry-specific discussions. 

Demographics are determined using a combination of factors, including name patterns, geographic markers, and publicly shared professional bios. Privacy is preserved using k-anonymity and differential privacy. Results are based on what people describe online — questions were not posed to the people in the sample.

About the representative sample:

• 70% of US manufacturing leaders are over the age of 45.

• 60% identify as male and 40% as female. 

• The largest number (38%) is located in the Pacific US.

• 50% earn between $200,000 and $500,000 annually.