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Robots set to take over workers faster
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CHEAPER, better robots will replace human workers in the world’s factories at a faster pace over the next decade, pushing labor costs down 16 percent, a report said yesterday.
The Boston Consulting Group predicts that investment in industrial robots will grow 10 percent a year in the world’s 25 biggest exporting nations through 2025, up from 2-3 percent a year now. The investment will pay off in lower costs and increased efficiency.
Robots will cut labor costs by 33 percent in South Korea, 25 percent in Japan, 24 percent in Canada and 22 percent in the United States. Only 10 percent of jobs that can be automated have already been taken by robots. By 2025, the machines will have more than 23 percent, Boston Consulting forecasts.
Robots are getting cheaper. The cost of owning and operating a robotic spot welder, for instance, has tumbled from US$182,000 in 2005 to US$133,000 last year, and will decline to US$103,000 by 2025, according to Boston Consulting.
And the new machines can do more things. Old robots could only operate in predictable environments. The newer ones use improved sensors to react to the unexpected.
In a separate report, RBC Global Asset Management notes that robots can be reprogramed far faster and more efficiently than humans can be retrained when products are updated or replaced.
Boston Consulting studied 21 industries in 25 countries and regions last year, interviewing experts and clients and consulting government and industry reports.
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