Total orders for Japanese manufacturers of metal cutting machine tools were +6.9% higher than in the 3rd period of the year and +8.4% above the level in the final quarter of 2023. This meant that the total for 2024 was just a smidgeon below the previous year’s figure; this came entirely from exports, which grew by +3%, while home orders fell by -7%.
The Japan Machine Tool Builders Association (JMTBA) publish monthly orders data, although in this case, it is for total business done by Japanese manufacturers rather than the Japanese market and it only covers those who build metal cutting machine tools (there is a separate association in Japan for manufacturers of metal forming machines). However, given the relatively low import ratio in Japan, the domestic orders series will be a good guide to the market situation.
This move towards overseas markets meant that the export ratio in 2024 was just over 70%, which is the highest since 2015 when we started to track this data. The largest export markets in 2024 for Japanese manufacturers of metal cutting machines were China (32% of total orders), the USA (26%) and the EU (13%). In terms of growth (or otherwise) compared to 2023, the best performances came from Vietnam (+103%) and the Philippines (+34%), with India (+26%), China (+23%) and South Korea (+18%) also seeing significant growth. The weakest market was Switzerland (-57%), with Germany and Italy (both -27%) also seeing a large reduction in orders.
In terms of industries in the domestic market, the largest is Industrial Machinery (41% of the total) but this is a very broad group with a large number of sub-groups. The automotive industry accounted for 21% of total domestic orders in 2024, with two-thirds of this in components.
The strongest growth was in the relatively small aerospace industry which was +55% up on 2023 but only accounting for 3% of total domestic orders, with Government, Public Agencies & Schools (+28%) and Precision Machinery (+8%) the only other groups to see a significant increase. The weakest demand came from two parts of the industrial machinery group with orders from the die & mould industry down by -44% and those from construction machinery companies falling by -32%.
You can access the JMTBA report at https://www.jmtba.or.jp/english/category/machine-tool-orders/ (Feb. 4, 2025) or we can send you the summary of the data – contact Geoff Noon at MTA (email: geoff.noon@mta.org.uk) if you want this analysis. A chart showing the 12-month rolling totals is available to download below.