Japan’s machine tool order forecast for 2021 is 1.1 trillion yen

January 6, 2021

News Digest Publishing, which operates SEISANZAI Japan, forecasts the Japanese machine tool order amount of 1.1 trillion yen in 2021. The most notable is the influence of COVID-19 infection.

Machine tool orders are greatly affected by the timing and degree of development and dissemination of vaccines, silver bullets, and medicine. Especially in the case of machine tools, face-to-face sales and services are very important. The trend of lifting restrictions on overseas travel and behavior is a big point to carry out a flow of operations such as ordering, production, and export. In some cases, the real order amount may exceed the forecast.

Domestic order in 2021 is expected to increase by 18.8% from 2020 to 380 billion yen. Domestic demand lacks strength, and it is expected that small fluctuation will occur frequently, but recovery will proceed slowly.

On the other hand, external demand is expected to increase by 26.3% to 720 billion yen. However, if COVID-19 spreading subsides well, the US dollar may become weaken and the relative appreciation of the yen may progress.

The automobile industry, which is a major customer of machine tool, has returned to the production pace since mid-2020. However, because the electrification of automobiles has become a global trend, capital investment for powertrains of engine cars is sluggish. On the other hand, development investment for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles is moving.