美国机器人革命在2019年遭受重创

美国机器人革命在2019年遭受重创

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.

美国企业在2019年安装的机器人数量低于前一年，这是自2015年以来的首次削减，原因是贸易战和需求疲软导致制造业低迷，抑制了对机器人的需求。

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.

据路透社(Reuters)看到的数据显示，出货量下降至23,758台，降幅超过16%。总部位于密歇根州安娜堡(Ann Arbor)的行业组织推进自动化协会(Association for advance Automation)于周二公布这一数据。

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.

去年墨西哥的机器人发货量也下降了25%，至3263台，而加拿大的发货量基本保持稳定，仅略高于3000台。

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.

唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统的一个主要目标是推动制造商将工作带回美国，这可能得益于新的自动化和机器人技术，这些技术将使国内工厂能够与中国和其他低成本国家的廉价劳动力竞争。但这一趋势似乎已被制造业更大的放缓所压倒。

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.

推进自动化协会副主席Alexander Shikany表示，这种放缓可能是短暂的。Shikany指出，去年北美新机器人订单增加1.6%，至29,988台。该指标是衡量未来几个月将安装多少台新机器人的单独指标。

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.

这一增长的最大推动力是来自汽车制造商的订单增长了50%以上，Shikany表示，这些制造商正在把机器人作为下一波汽车技术投资的一部分。

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，美国第一大汽车制造商通用汽车(gm . n:行情)最近宣布，将投资22亿美元，在其位于密歇根州哈姆特拉马克(Hamtramck)的底特律工厂生产电动卡车和自动驾驶电动汽车。

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.

位于阿肯色州琼斯博罗(Jonesboro)的私营公司Hytrol输送带公司(Hytrol Co Inc)生产输送带，去年销售额超过2亿美元。该公司在2019年没有削减机器人的安装。随着电子商务业务和其他仓储业务的蓬勃发展，该公司去年斥资190万美元帮助实现了装配线的自动化。

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.

该公司总裁戴维•皮科克(David Peacock)表示，公司三年前就意识到，如果没有更多的机器人，公司将难以跟上需求的增长。

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.

这些投资并没有减少就业。Hytrol传送带工厂的员工人数在过去三年中增加了18%，达到1300人。与此同时，营收增长了近四分之一。