Productivity lag parallels slow adoption of industrial robots says report
8 Mar 2021
The UK remains significantly behind many leading industrial economies in its adoption of industrial robots, suggests a report by supply chain specialists Balloon One.
It warns that this is having an impact on the country’s disappointing levels of productivity compared to its compettitors.
"Because there is a correlation between robot density and higher levels of productivity, it seems that if the UK increased its robot density, it could boost productivity,” said Balloon One MD Craig Powell.
“This begs the question of whether the country should invest more in automation if it wants to see a boost in its manufacturing productivity. It certainly seems to be working for nations of a similar standing.”
The UK currently ranks 20th in the world for productivity, putting it behind not only the USA and China and leading East Asian economies but nearly half of EU member states.
These not only include the likes of Germany, France and Italy as well as Sweden, Denmark and Finalnd but also Spain, Austra, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czechia,Slovenia and Slovakia.
The survey examined robot density, productivity in terms of GDP per hours worked and the extent of reliance upon manufacturing.
Added Powell: "While industrial robots certainly seem to offer a huge productivity boost on a national level, there is also potential for other types of automation to further increase these numbers.”
