Robots multiply in China with annual output rising passing 100,000

Annual production of industrial robots surpassed 100,000 for the first time -- and it only took 10 months. Shipments were up 67 percent through October compared with a year earlier, state media reported Thursday. And there’s more to come: full-year output will reach 120,000 units, according to Ministry of Industry and Information Technology forecasts.

China produced about 90,000 robot units last year, more than South Korea and North America combined, data compiled by Bloomberg from the International Federation of Robotics show.

China accounts for about a third of the global demand for industrial robots, which are at the core of the government’s