More than half of surveyed buildings are already running a robot

Modern Materials Handling’s 2026 Intralogistics Robotics Survey says 52 percent of participants already use one or more types of robots, up from 48 percent. Another 32 percent plan a deployment within three years, and 12 percent place that plan further out.

Beyond the robots, 58 percent say they use or are considering other intralogistics automation, including conveyors, sortation, and automated storage or shuttle systems. That share was 46 percent the year before. Klappich, quoted in the survey, notes that the category runs from a basic conveyor to a large AS/RS, so the jump is real and still mixed.

Where companies plan to put robots, order or case picking leads at 57 percent. Heavy-payload forked or tugger transport is 32 percent, sortation robots 31 percent, and collaborative in-aisle picking 30 percent. Autonomous case handling, truck loading, and high-reach work follow.