Analysis: Japanese Machine Tool Industry

The latest statistics released by the Japan Machine Tool Industry Association show that from January to September, Japan's machine tool orders amounted to 997.1 billion yen, an increase of 41.9%. Although the beginning of the year was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, increasing overseas demand was the main reason for the increase in orders. It is estimated that the total amount of machine tool orders in 2011 will reach 1.3 trillion yen.

The president of the Japan Machine Tool Industry Association Yokoyama Motohiko said that although orders from China have decreased, 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 the United States have 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.

President Yokoyama Motohiko also stated that due to the continuous appreciation of the yen, some machine tool equipment manufacturers plan to reduce their production scale on a daily basis and shift to overseas production. The prospects of the Japanese machine tool equipment industry are still uncertain.