According to the latest Word Robotics report published by the International Federation of Robotics, sales of parallel robots were up 39% from 1,632 units in 2012 to 2,943 units in 2013. This increased demand comes mainly from the United States where sales of parallel robots surged 88% from 306 units in 2012 to 1,104 units in 2013. The reason for this increase was a considerable number of orders for Delta robots and the like from the food and beverage industry, as well as from the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Indeed, the main applications for parallel robots are pick and place, packaging, and material handling.