Japanese machine tool orders increased by 8% in April, and demand in China increased
According to data released by the Japan Machine Tool Builders’ Association (JMA) on May 15, the amount of machine tool orders (preliminary value) in April increased by 8% year-on-year to 130.2 billion yen. Overall growth has been achieved for seven consecutive months. Considering the current situation, manufacturers generally believe that corporate factory investment will continue to remain strong.
From the composition of machine tool orders in April, domestic orders in Japan decreased by 5% to 34.4 billion yen, and overseas orders increased by 13% to 95.7 billion yen. The JMA said, “The level is acceptable. Although equipment investment by small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan is weak, there has been no impact such as the suspension of negotiations caused by US tariffs.”
Judging from the situation in factory automation-related fields such as machine tools and robots, many companies expect to achieve both revenue and profit growth in fiscal 2025 (ending March 2026). Although there is a risk of equipment investment slowing down due to Trump’s tariffs, the mainstream view is that the risk can be offset by the recovery of demand in China and semiconductor-related fields.
Makino Milling Machine Co., Ltd. believes that the appreciation of the yen will cause the company’s consolidated sales in fiscal 2025 to decrease by 11.3 billion yen from the previous fiscal year, and its operating profit to decrease by 2.1 billion yen, but from the full-year performance, both sales and operating profits will set new historical highs.
source: International Business News
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