From January to October, Japan's machine tool orders exceeded trillion yen

Recently, the latest machine tool order data released by the Japan Machine Tool Industry Association (JMTBA) showed that in October 2011, Japan's machine tool orders amounted to 101.104 billion yen, a decrease of 8.6% from the previous quarter, but it still grew by 25.9% year-on-year. From January to October, Japan's machine tool orders exceeded 100 billion yen in nine months, and fell to below 100 billion yen in August alone. From January to October 2011, Japan's accumulated machine tool orders amounted to 1.098 trillion yen, an increase of 40.2% over the same period of 2010, and orders exceeded the trillion-yen yen mark.

From the perspective of domestic and international demand, in October, Japan's domestic machine tool orders amounted to 31.704 billion yen, a decrease of 10.7% from the previous quarter, but it increased by 25% year-on-year. In October, Japan's overseas machine tool orders amounted to 69.31 billion yen, a decrease of 7.6% from the previous quarter, but a year-on-year increase of 26.3%. From January to October, the cumulative domestic orders for Japanese machine tools were 348.505 billion yen, an increase of 42.2% year-on-year; the cumulative overseas orders were 749.608 billion yen, an increase of 39.3% year-on-year.

According to JMTBA's forecast, the volume of orders for Japanese machine tools in 2011 is expected to reach 1.3 trillion yen, an increase of approximately 30% from 2010. If this goal can be achieved, Japan's machine tool orders will basically return to 2008 levels. Although orders from China have decreased recently, orders in Europe and the United States have been growing for 21 consecutive months, and equipment investment plans for auto and machinery companies in Europe and America have always maintained a slow growth trend. At the same time, due to the impact of flooding in Thailand, some Thai-owned machine tools and equipment need to be replaced or repaired. After such conditions stabilize, the demand for machine tool equipment and accessories will soar.

According to a person in the Japanese machine tool industry, the appreciation of the yen has affected the competitiveness of Japan's machine tool manufacturers overseas. Japanese companies that have shifted their production bases to Asia have purchased 2-50% cheaper than Japan's and China's Taiwanese machine tools. In order to adapt to this change, Japan's machine tool manufacturers have been forced to strengthen their production and sales overseas, especially in Asia. Makino Milling Machine, OKK, and Toyohwa Industries have started production in Singapore, Thailand, and China to expand their production capacity. The future of the Japanese machine tool equipment industry remains uncertain.