IFR: Commercial Service Robot Shipments Reached About 250,000 in 2025; Transportation and Logistics Led With 117,000

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) announced on September 30, 2026, as part of its presentation of “World Robotics 2026 Service Robots,” that global shipments of commercial service robots reached about 250,000 units in 2025, up 24% year over year. Transportation and logistics was the largest application, with 117,000 units.

In IFR’s tally, transportation and logistics was the largest application, with 117,000 units out of about 250,000 commercial service robot shipments. The figure offers a way to gauge the scale of logistics automation by shipment volume. However, shipments do not indicate the number of robots in operation or their impact at work sites, so they need to be assessed alongside application breakdowns and post-deployment operating status.

Against a total of about 250,000 units, transportation and logistics accounted for 117,000. Using about 250,000 as the total, a simple calculation puts this application at about 47% of all shipments. However, the total is described as “about,” so the ratio is also an estimate. The application-level figures, in addition to the overall growth rate, show which uses accounted for a substantial share of the expansion in commercial service robot shipments. These figures measure shipments, not the number of robots installed and operating or the actual volume of work performed. Therefore, the 117,000 units cannot be directly treated as the number deployed at work sites or as a measure of automation progress. The information provided does not show whether the increase in shipments came from replacing robots at existing sites, deployment at new sites or different types of robots. Shipment growth must be considered separately from post-deployment operating status and impact. The transportation and logistics figure is also an application-level tally; it does not show the breakdown by robot type, work process, price range or region. The estimated share of about 47% indicates the prominence of this application, but does not explain which processes or products drove the volume. Understanding the implications for the industry structure would also require the definition of the application categories and information on whether shipments were concentrated in specific robot types. The next figures to check are the prior-year shipment total used as the basis for the 24% increase, breakdowns by region and robot type, and operating status after shipment. It would also be useful to confirm which tasks are included in the 117,000 transportation and logistics units, along with the report’s scope and methodology. The article information provided is not enough to determine the reasons behind the shipment growth, deployment sites, utilization rates or individual companies’ results.