The Japanese Working Machinery Industry Association announced on November 13 that the order volume of machine tools in October (quick report value) was 112 billion yen, which was 21% lower than that of the same month last year. Orders have fallen year-on-year for 10 consecutive months. In 2022, Japan’s domestic semiconductor manufacturing equipment and auto-related demand is strong, and the comparison base is high, which has declined this year. China’s economic slowdown has also dragged down demand for equipment investment.
Among the total orders, domestic demand was 33.6 billion yen, down 25 percent year-on-year. An official at Makino Milling Machine said, orders for semiconductor manufacturing equipment in October last year were at a high level, and so on. An Okuma official said, If the demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment recovers, there will be a trend of facility investment, but it will take some time.
External demand fell 19 percent to 78.3 billion yen. Tsugami executives point out: “Global orders are still in a situation of adjustment.” China’s economic recovery has been slow, and companies are cautious about investing in equipment because of the uncertain outlook. In North America, investments in pure electric vehicles (EVs), aircraft and healthcare have been seen as strong.