From cars to iPhones to semiconductors, bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US is a cornerstone of Donald Trump’s economic agenda. As the country’s factories struggle to find workers, with half a million jobs remaining unfilled in March, the Trump administration and some executives have envisaged robots taking up the slack. Industry experts, however, are sceptical. Manufacturers are facing an uncertain economic climate, but the significant time, cost and the shortages of technically skilled workers are barriers to a rapid acceleration in automation. “Companies can’t pivot on a dime,” said Ken Goldberg, a robotics professor at the University of California, Berkeley and chief scientist at US-based Ambi Robotics. Cost is the biggest obstacle. While the price of industrial robots is rapidly declining driven by Chinese manufacturers, a lower priced type known as a “cobot” still retails for between $25,000 and $50,000. The robot is also just a fraction of the expense of integrating automation into a factory. A robot that stacks goods on to pallets can cost up to $150,000 to install when sensors, safety fencing, conveyors and other infrastructure are taken into account, according to Jorg Hendrikx, chief executives of robotics marketplace Qviro.

Full report : Why robots are not the answer to US manufacturing reshoring hopes.