美國(guó)機(jī)器人革命在2019年遭受重創(chuàng)

美國(guó)機(jī)器人革命在2019年遭受重創(chuàng)

US companies installed fewer robots in 2019 than they did the year before, the first cut back since 2015, as a downturn in manufacturing fueled by trade wars and weaker demand dampened appetite for the machines.

美國(guó)企業(yè)在2019年安裝的機(jī)器人數(shù)量低于前一年，這是自2015年以來(lái)的首次削減，原因是貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)和需求疲軟導(dǎo)致制造業(yè)低迷，抑制了對(duì)機(jī)器人的需求。

Shipments fell to 23,758, a more than 16 percent drop, according to data seen by Reuters that was set for release on Tuesday by the Association for Advancing Automation, an industry group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

據(jù)路透社(Reuters)看到的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，出貨量下降至23,758臺(tái)，降幅超過(guò)16%。總部位于密歇根州安娜堡(Ann Arbor)的行業(yè)組織推進(jìn)自動(dòng)化協(xié)會(huì)(Association for advance Automation)于周二公布這一數(shù)據(jù)。

Robot shipments also fell in Mexico last year, declining 25 percent to 3,263, while shipments in Canada roughly held steady at just over 3,000 units.

去年墨西哥的機(jī)器人發(fā)貨量也下降了25%，至3263臺(tái)，而加拿大的發(fā)貨量基本保持穩(wěn)定，僅略高于3000臺(tái)。

A major goal of President Donald Trump has been to drive manufacturers to bring work back to the United States, presumably aided by new automation and robotics that would allow domestic plants to compete with cheaper labor in China and other lower-cost countries. But that trend appears to have been overwhelmed by a larger slowdown in manufacturing.

唐納德·特朗普(Donald Trump)總統(tǒng)的一個(gè)主要目標(biāo)是推動(dòng)制造商將工作帶回美國(guó)，這可能得益于新的自動(dòng)化和機(jī)器人技術(shù)，這些技術(shù)將使國(guó)內(nèi)工廠能夠與中國(guó)和其他低成本國(guó)家的廉價(jià)勞動(dòng)力競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。但這一趨勢(shì)似乎已被制造業(yè)更大的放緩所壓倒。

Alexander Shikany, vice president of the Association for Advancing Automation, said the slowdown is likely to be short-lived. Orders for new robots in North America, a separate measure that gives a sense of how many machines will be installed in future months, increased last year by 1.6 percent to 29,988 units, Shikany noted.

推進(jìn)自動(dòng)化協(xié)會(huì)副主席Alexander Shikany表示，這種放緩可能是短暫的。Shikany指出，去年北美新機(jī)器人訂單增加1.6%，至29,988臺(tái)。該指標(biāo)是衡量未來(lái)幾個(gè)月將安裝多少臺(tái)新機(jī)器人的單獨(dú)指標(biāo)。

The largest driver of that growth was a more than 50 percent jump in orders from automakers, which Shikany said were making robots part of their investment in the next wave of automotive technology.

這一增長(zhǎng)的最大推動(dòng)力是來(lái)自汽車制造商的訂單增長(zhǎng)了50%以上，Shikany表示，這些制造商正在把機(jī)器人作為下一波汽車技術(shù)投資的一部分。

No. 1 US automaker General Motors Co, for example, recently announced it was investing $2.2 billion to build electric trucks and autonomous electric vehicles at its Detroit-area plant in Hamtramck, Michigan.

例如，美國(guó)第一大汽車制造商通用汽車(gm . n:行情)最近宣布，將投資22億美元，在其位于密歇根州哈姆特拉馬克(Hamtramck)的底特律工廠生產(chǎn)電動(dòng)卡車和自動(dòng)駕駛電動(dòng)汽車。

Hytrol Conveyor Co Inc, a privately held company in Jonesboro, Arkansas, that produces conveyor belts and had sales last year of over $200 million, did not cut back on robot installations in 2019. With demand from e-commerce businesses and other warehouse operations booming, the company spent $1.9 million last year to help automate its assembly line.

位于阿肯色州瓊斯博羅(Jonesboro)的私營(yíng)公司Hytrol輸送帶公司(Hytrol Co Inc)生產(chǎn)輸送帶，去年銷售額超過(guò)2億美元。該公司在2019年沒(méi)有削減機(jī)器人的安裝。隨著電子商務(wù)業(yè)務(wù)和其他倉(cāng)儲(chǔ)業(yè)務(wù)的蓬勃發(fā)展，該公司去年斥資190萬(wàn)美元幫助實(shí)現(xiàn)了裝配線的自動(dòng)化。

David Peacock, the company’s president, said the company realized three years ago it would have trouble keeping up with demand growth without more robots.

該公司總裁戴維•皮科克(David Peacock)表示，公司三年前就意識(shí)到，如果沒(méi)有更多的機(jī)器人，公司將難以跟上需求的增長(zhǎng)。

The investments have not cut jobs. Headcount at Hytrol Conveyor’s factory has increased 18 percent over the past three years to 1,300 workers. Revenues, meanwhile, are up nearly a quarter.

這些投資并沒(méi)有減少就業(yè)。Hytrol傳送帶工廠的員工人數(shù)在過(guò)去三年中增加了18%，達(dá)到1300人。與此同時(shí)，營(yíng)收增長(zhǎng)了近四分之一。