Monthly Machine Tool Orders in Japan (April 2022)

Japan Machine Tool Builders’ Association (JMTBA) has released the English-language report on Japanese machine tool orders for April 2022.

The total value of machine tool orders in April was 155.50 billion yen. This was a decrease of 6.8% compared to March 2022 and marked the first month of month-on-month decline in two months. However, this figure represented an increase of 25.0% compared to the same month of the previous year and marked the eighteenth consecutive month of year-on-year growth. The total amount of orders has exceeded 150 billion yen for two consecutive months, which is the eighth-highest order in the past for a single month. It topped 100 billion yen for 15 consecutive months.
As of April, the effects of risk factors such as parts shortages, geopolitical risks, and lockdown in China have not become apparent, but we would like to keep an eye on future trends.

Domestic orders fell by 11.7% from March, amounting to 53.18 billion yen. This marked the first month of month-on-month decline in three months. Nevertheless, this figure was an increase of 47.4% over the same month of the previous year and marked the year-on-year growth in fourteenth consecutive months. Looking at major industries, orders compared to March fell by 9.9% in industrial machinery, up by 5.1% in motor vehicles, fell by 41.6% in electrical & precision machinery, and by 57.1% in aircraft, shipbuilding & transport equipment.

Foreign orders fell by 4.0% from March to 101.82 billion yen, marked the first month of month-on-month decline in two months. Although, foreign orders showed an increase of 15.8% over the same month of the previous year, and this marked the eighteenth consecutive month of year-on-year growth. By region, orders from Asia fell by 7.6% from March to 47.94 billion yen.
This was a decrease of 7.1% from the same month of the previous year. Orders from Europe rose by 5.9% over March to 20.69 billion yen. This was an increase of 38.2% over the same month of the previous year. Orders from North America fell by 5.8% from March, amounting to 30.92 billion yen. This figure was an increase of 55.6% over the same month of the previous year.