JMTBA forecasts 2022 orders to be 1.65 trillion yen

Japan’s Machine tool orders in 2021 exceed 1.5 trillion yen. Japan Machine Tool Builders’ Association (JMTBA) said that orders increased due to steady semiconductor-related demand and pent-up demand seen around the world, which had been suppressed by COVID-19 disaster.

According to a preliminary report released by the JMTBA on January 13, the preliminary amounts of orders received in December, 2021 was 139.1 billion yen, up 40.5% from the same month last year. The previous month’s amount was down 4.3%, with the second consecutive month of decline. Although the amount of orders in December fell below 140 billion yen for the first time in four months, orders remain at a high level.

Domestic demand increased 61.2% year-on-year (YoY) to 51.3 billion yen. Month-on-month (MoM) growth was 2.7%. Demand will recover in a wide range of industries, led by semiconductors.

Foreign demand was 87.8 billion yen, up 30.6% YoY and down 8.0% MoM.

In December, it is usual to be seen order increase due to the end-of-term effect, but there were large orders in October and November, leading to MoM decline in December. JMTBA commented that the MoM decrease does not indicate a deterioration in market conditions.

JMTBA also forecasted that machine tool orders for 2022 will be 1.65 trillion yen at an event for industry professionals held on January 7. JMTBA cited the continued active investment in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and industrial machinery, as well as more investment in automation and digitalization, as factors for its forecast.