Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Tow Vehicles, Automated Forklift Trucks, Underride/ Tunnelling Vehicles, Assembly Line Vehicles & Others), By Navigation Technology (Laser Guided, Magnetic Guided, Vision Guided and Others), By Application (Transportation & Distribution, Storage & Assembly, Packaging), By Industry (Automotive, Food & Beverage, E-Commerce) and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027

The global automated guided vehicle (AGV) market size was valued at USD 1.68 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 3.39 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.2% during the forecast period.

AGVs are material handling automated machines that are programmed to move pallets, carts, and trays, among others, between different manufacturing and warehousing facilities. AGVs are installed by these facilities in order to enhance efficiency, which results in increased output, thereby increasing the profit margin of the company. The industries now tend to focus more on efficiency and not just increasing the productivity. This can be seen as many manufacturing facilities and others are considering implementing various methodologies such as JIT (Just in Time), KANBAN, etc.

COVID-19 Effect: Opportunities for the Adoption of Latest Activities to Restrain

The impact on the market has been relatively limited. In the short term, influence primarily lies in supply chain obstruction and difficulty in improving production, owing to the lack of traffic restrictions and personnel mobility. The enormity of these disruptions increases as the time to recovery lengthens. Moreover, the impact on the manufacturing industry will be far more extensive if the virus impacts other main industrial countries beyond India, China, and Germany. In the long term, the manufacturing industry should get back on track, thus, resulting in stabilizing the growing demand for AGV’s.

LATEST TRENDS

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Focus on Increasing Efficiency to Boost the Growth of the Market

Automated guided vehicles are used to increase efficiency and decrease damage to goods and materials and reduce operational costs by limiting the number of employees required for completing the job. Moreover, these are better replacement options to lift trucks, which are operated manually. This enables the company to use the manpower in areas where they can provide more value addition to the product, along with adopting methodologies to increase efficiency such as JIT, KANBAN, etc. AGVs have enabled the companies to completely automate the process, which involves the movement of goods. Some of the functions that AGVs provide include repetitive transportation, multi-shift or 24x7 operations, and low & medium-throughput, among various other benefits. Therefore, better optimization can be achieved for the whole manufacturing process resulting in increased efficiency.

DRIVING FACTORS

Increasing Automation in Material Handling Process to Favor Growth

Increasing automation in the material handling process has enabled the industries to have connected factories, with technologies such as big data, machine learning, etc., resulting in the adoption of automated material handling processes. This aids them in having flexible manufacturing processes, improved quality control, and, enhanced labor management, among others. Besides, the increasing business of the e-commerce industry across the globe is resulting in the increasing adoption of automated material handling process. Companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba, etc. are focusing on automation of material handling process in order to reduce the operation cost and increase the inventory size. According to our secondary research, only 25% of the facilities have an automated material handling system. Hence, automated material handling has a huge scope and is expected to boost the AGV market growth.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

High Initial Investment, Installation Cost, and Present Financial Crisis to Hinder Market Growth

The companies that are automating the manufacturing process or supply chain by deploying AGVs are required to infuse huge amounts of capital. This involves purchasing cost, installation cost, and cost involved in making the working space friendlier to AGVs. Furthermore, in the midst of ongoing pandemic companies are facing troubles in adjusting to changing needs of the hour. The companies are currently going through a severe cash crunch, owing to which, they are required to even lay off their employees and work-force. This is expected to affect the companies in the coming years based on the severity of hampered economic activity owing to the unprecedented time.

SEGMENTATION

By Type Analysis

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Automated Forklift Trucks is Projected to Grow at a Higher Rate

The market for automated guided vehicle is segmented on the basis of type, namely tow vehicles, automated forklift trucks, underride/ tunneling vehicles, assembly line vehicles, and others (unit load carriers, etc.). Amongst them, the automated forklift trucks are estimated to have a significant portion of the market share and are expected to hold 26.0% of the market. This is owed to the design and application of the machines, owed to which the forklift trucks provides better stability, control, and storage capacity. Moreover, automated forklift trucks are standard offerings by the majority of the players in the market.

Automated unit load carriers are expected to hold a major share of the market and exhibit a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period. Additionally, underride/ tunneling vehicles, tow vehicles, and assembly line vehicles are expected to exhibit a moderate growth owing to their specific use case in the industries during the forecast period. Moreover, these trucks are comparatively bigger in size, which requires extra space while movement that limits its applications.

By Navigation Technology Analysis

Laser Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) to Hold the Largest Market Share

Based on navigation technology, the market is segmented into laser-guided, magnetic guided, vision guided, and others (wire-guided, etc.). Here, the laser AGV sub-segment holds the largest market share.

Laser AGV sub-segment is witnessing growth in the material handling industry worldwide as it acts as an electronic eye to skip the obstacles within the path. The combination of flexibility and accuracy makes laser AGV systems popular as they pose challenges in the environment with obstacles and perform the operations. Whereas, magnetic AGV and Vision guided vehicles (VGVs) are anticipated to witness significant growth in several sectors owing to the flexible structure of these systems. The others segment consists of wire-guided and other types of automated guided vehicles that are likely to witness moderate growth.

By Application Analysis

Automated Transportation & Distribution Process to Boost the Market

Based on application, the automated guided vehicle market is categorized into transportation and distribution, storage and assembly, and packaging.

Transportation and distribution sub-segment is projected to exhibit a robust growth rate owing to its adoption in different types of industries during the forecast period. AGVs have a wide variety of applications for the movement of goods & products from one place to another at an industry or facility. Transportation and distribution process is used by various industries to move goods & materials such as paper, plastic, metal, rubber, steel, etc. Storage and assembly, and packaging application are required for functions such as the movement of empty bottles, containers, pallets, and transporting goods from the end of the production line to storage and many more.

By Industry Analysis

Increasing Material Handling Process from E-commerce Industry to Accelerate AGV Market Revenue

Based on industry, the automated guided vehicles industry is categorized into automotive, food & beverage, E-commerce, and others.

E-commerce sub-segment is estimated to exhibit robust growth owing to the increasing business of major e-commerce players such as Amazon, Alibaba, etc. AGVs have a prominent presence in the industries where there is the bulk movement of materials such as automotive industry, food & beverage, among others. In the automotive industry, AGVs are used for transporting tools, vehicles, engines, chassis, etc. These require 3 steps which are pickup, transport, and drop. Besides, in the food & beverage, and e-commerce industries, AGVs aid in integration of material handling systems, ERP systems, high- rack storage systems, and warehouse management. Furthermore, goods in these industries are labeled with barcodes and RFIDs, which makes it easier for the AGVs to recognize the product and move them at the required destination.

REGIONAL ANALYSIS

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The market for automated guided vehicle is segmented across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.

North America is projected to show dynamic growth in this market. The increasing number of import and export activities is driving the AGV market growth in North America. Warehouse owners are increasingly adopting automation technologies to optimize warehouse operations and gain maximum efficiency. Companies operating in the region are introducing new products with advanced technologies to cater to the increasing customer demands. For instance, in September 2018, Seegrid Corporation introduced a self-driving vision guided vehicle for material handling operations for transportation, e-commerce, and distribution companies. The equipment has the ability to load and unload pallets automatically.

Asia-Pacific is estimated to hold the highest growth rate owing to the rapidly developing e-commerce industry in several countries including China, India, and Japan, which is driving the AGV industry. Governments of several countries in Asia-Pacific are taking various initiatives to support the development of the regional manufacturing sector or industry, providing lucrative opportunities for market expansion. Furthermore, increasing adoption of Industry 4.0 along with industrial automation technologies will propel the AGVs market position in Europe & Latin American countries. Moreover, the increasing focus of manufacturers on the adoption of automation processes is propelling the market growth in the Middle East and African countries.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Prominent Players Offering Novel Solutions to Intensify Competition

Leading market players such as TOYOTA INDUSTRIES CORPORATION, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., Daifuku Co., Ltd., & Oceaneering International Inc, have a dominant position, holding approximately 40-45% of the overall automated guided vehicle market share. These players are investing in R&D in order to integrate the latest technologies to improve the performance. For instance, in October 2019, HRG (HIT Robot Group) launched its new AGVs which integrates “simultaneous localization and mapping”, or SLAM, to move on the floors of industries or facilities.

List of Key Companies Profiled:

• Oceaneering International Inc (United States)


• Toyota Advanced Logistics (Japan)


• Daifuku Co., Ltd. (Japan)


• KION GROUP AG (Germany)


• Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., (United States)


• JBT (United States)


• Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. (United States)


• Crown Equipment Corporation (United States)


• Seegrid Corporation (United States)


• E&K Automation GmbH (Germany)


• HIT Robot Group (China)

REPORT COVERAGE

An Infographic Representation of Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) Market

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The automated guided vehicle (AGV) market report provides an in-depth analysis of the market dynamics and competitive landscape. It provides various key insights including recent industry developments in this market, such as mergers & acquisitions, macro, and microeconomic factors, SWOT analysis, and company profiles.

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• April 2019: Daifuku Co., Ltd. acquired India-based material handling equipment manufacturer, Vega Conveyors and Automation. This strategic development focuses on entire FA&DA manufacturing facility at Vega’s present manufacturing facility in Telangana.


• April 2019: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG, an automotive parts supplier, announced its investment in installing AGVs at its Coventry factory. This investment eliminates human error along with speeding up the movement of the finished goods.

Report Scope & Segmentation