Industry Brief, September 4, 2026: Reshoring survey, KUKA security, Caterpillar-FieldAI

By MillBrief Editorial · September 4, 2026 · Retrospective edition, published September 23, 2026

This is a retrospective edition. The brief did not run on September 4, 2026; we wrote it on September 23, 2026 using only reporting that was published on or shortly before September 4, 2026, and it makes no forecasts.

This is a retrospective edition covering September 4, 2026, using only reporting published on or up to two days before that date. Today: a survey that finds more manufacturers bringing production home while asking above all for predictable tariffs, a robot maker’s controller passing a recognised cybersecurity bar, a heavy-equipment giant teaming with an autonomy startup, and a controller supplier’s view of Big Tech buying up robot companies. Our own words, links to the original outlet, vendor numbers labelled as vendor numbers.

More OEMs are reshoring, and what they want most is stable tariff rules

Manufacturing Dive summarises the 2026 Reshoring Survey Report from the Reshoring Initiative and Regions Recruiting. Of 118 OEM respondents, 36% said they had reshored or were actively reshoring, up from 29% last year, while 31% had no plans to. 63% plan capital investment in reshoring or domestic expansion. Tariffs (65%) and geopolitical risk (60%) were the top reasons. Among 131 contract manufacturers, the share quoting reshoring projects doubled from 16% to 32%.

Policy uncertainty was the main challenge for 57% of OEMs; the next most common, pricing and passing on costs, was named by only 15%. More firms now evaluate total cost of ownership (40%, up from 30%). Satisfaction has cooled: 65% of OEMs that reshored are satisfied, against 96% in 2025. They cite faster speed to market, better on-time delivery and lower freight costs, but also higher labour and overhead costs, gaps in domestic components and labour shortages. The report’s line: manufacturers can plan around a known cost, not a moving target.

Why it matters: OEMs that have reshored name labour cost and labour availability among the downsides, which is where automation has to earn its place, and the survey’s shift towards total cost of ownership is the right lens for the robot too: include integration, training and support, not just the quote. Our guides to automation payback and hidden costs walk through both.

Source: Manufacturing Dive, September 4, 2026.

KUKA says it is the first robot maker certified to IEC 62443-4-2 Security Level 2

Modern Materials Handling reports that KUKA Robotics has achieved Security Level 2 under the IEC 62443-4-2 cybersecurity standard for its iiQKA.OS2 operating system and KR C5-2 controller platform, and describes KUKA as the first robotics manufacturer to do so. The article does not name the certifying body, so treat the “first” as KUKA’s claim as reported.

IEC 62443 is a series of standards for the security of industrial automation and control systems, and part 4-2 sets technical security requirements for components. Security Level 2 is aimed at protecting against intentional attacks by attackers with limited resources and technical expertise. Ed Volcic, KUKA’s regional technology officer for North America, called cybersecurity a fundamental requirement for modern manufacturing.

Why it matters: A named standard and level give buyers something concrete to compare, which beats a vendor saying its controller is “secure”. Note the scope, though: the certificate covers specific components against a defined level of attacker, not your whole cell or network. When you compare robots, ask each supplier which controller and software versions are certified, to which part and level of IEC 62443, and how security updates are delivered. Add it to your integrator questions.

Source: Modern Materials Handling, September 4, 2026.

Caterpillar teams with FieldAI, with no numbers attached yet

Yahoo Finance reports that Caterpillar has announced a collaboration with FieldAI to deploy AI, robotics and digital twins across industrial jobsites and manufacturing facilities. It pairs Caterpillar’s operational data and engineering with FieldAI’s robot-agnostic autonomy software and foundation models. Caterpillar lists initial applications as autonomous inspections, real-time digital twins of facilities, situational awareness tools, and simulation and automation for operational optimisation. The twins are being built with NVIDIA computing and Omniverse.

The article is careful to note what is missing: no performance results, no financial terms, no revenue expectations and no timetable for broader deployment. FieldAI chief executive Ali Agha says the company has deployments at hundreds of sites worldwide, and it has raised more than $400 million from investors including Bezos Expeditions, Khosla Ventures, Temasek and NVIDIA’s NVentures.

Why it matters: Inspection is a lower-stakes starting point for mobile autonomy than handling, since the robot observes rather than moves product. But this is an announcement of intent. If a vendor cites it, ask for results from a site like yours, and see our notes on what to automate first.

Source: Yahoo Finance, September 3, 2026.

A controller maker on Big Tech buying robot startups, and why open platforms help

In an interview with The Robot Report, Jenny Shern, general manager of Taiwan-based controller supplier NexCOBOT, expects acquisitions of robotics startups by large tech companies to continue. The article lists recent examples: Mobileye buying Mentee Robotics for $900 million in January, Amazon buying Fauna Robotics in March and Meta buying Assured Robot Intelligence in May. She argues that startups bring expertise in learning, perception and control, while big firms bring compute, data and capital.

Shern says AI-native robots are progressing quickly but that, for industry, reliability and safety requirements mean adoption will come in stages. She favours separating software from hardware through modular platforms and standard interfaces, so new AI features can run on existing robots, and open control platforms that let manufacturers mix components from different vendors. Her vendor example: a client using NexCOBOT’s certified functional safety controller cut a development cycle estimated at three to five years to two.

Why it matters: For a buyer, acquisitions cut both ways: a startup’s product may gain resources, or be refocused away from customers like you. Open interfaces and standard components reduce that risk, because the cell does not depend on one company’s roadmap. Ask what happens to support and software if the supplier is bought, and treat the two-year example as NexCOBOT’s own claim. See also why automation projects fail.

Source: The Robot Report, September 2, 2026.