Japan's machine tool first half of the first half of 2012 reduced the amount of the first time in three years

According to Japanese media reports, the 11 machine tool forging machinery companies in the first half of 2012 (January-June) had a total of 421.232 billion yen in Japanese orders (approximately US$5.3474.5 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 10.8. %, and for the first time in three years, the amount of orders in the first half decreased.

Due to factors such as the revival demand of the Great East Japan Earthquake, domestic demand orders have ensured growth. On the other hand, with regard to external demand orders, in addition to China's weak orders for the most demanding countries, European credit instability and the appreciation of the yen have also caused a drop in external demand orders. However, as China's financial austerity policy continues to relax, there are insiders who point out that orders are slowly increasing.

The domestic demand order performance was 16,665.23 million yen (approximately US$2,213.79 million), a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. The amount of external demand for orders was 25.536 billion yen (approximately US$324.769 million), a decrease of 18.1% year-on-year. Out of the 11 companies, 8 companies’ external demand orders declined. The ratio of external demand dropped to 60.4%, a year-on-year decrease of 5.4 percentage points.

Note: The real-time exchange rate used in this paper is US$1 = 78.1140 yen.