Japan machine tool orders in 2024 are anticipated to reach 1.5 trillion yen, marking the first increase in two years, with a modest 0.9% rise from 2023.

Jan 15, 2024 - The Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association (JMTBA) has disclosed that machine tool orders in 2024 are projected to total 1.5 trillion yen, reflecting a 0.9% increase from 2023, with the preliminary figure standing at 1.49 trillion yen (U$10,000 million).

In 2023, Japan machine tool orders experienced a 15.5% decline compared to the previous year, marking the first decrease in three years.  Domestic demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and automobiles did not recover as expected, and external demand was affected by a significant slowdown in China, where the economy was in a slump.

Domestic demand in Japan dropped by 21.0% to 476,401 million yen, declining for the first time in three years and falling below the 500 billion yen mark for the first time in the same period. Meanwhile, external demand decreased by 12.7% to 1,009,603 billion yen. Although experiencing a negative trend for the first time in three years, this figure remained higher than the 736,712 billion yen recorded before the coronavirus pandemic 2019.

Reflecting on the situation, an executive at a machine tool manufacturer remarked, "We were expecting a recovery, particularly in the semiconductor sector, to begin in 2023, but the situation has regressed further than expected."

Source: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun

Read more: Japan Machine Tool Orders in December 2023