Japan Machine Tool Makers Log 1st Drop in Domestic

Tag : Tools And Machinery
Domestic and overseas ordersfor Japanese machine tools in June were both down from a yearearlier, marking the first such double drop since September 2002,an industry group said Wednesday.

Overseas orders experienced its first fall in five months, down 2.7pct to 71.6 billion yen, while domestic orders dropped 2.1 pct to56.8 billion yen, down for the fifth consecutive month, the JapanMachine Tool Builders' Association said in a revised report.

Overall machine tool orders received by Japanese manufacturers inJune dropped 2.5 pct to 128.4 billion yen, it said.

The association, however, remained optimistic. "Basically, theuptrend so far has not changed," an official said.

The total machine tool orders topped 100 billion yen for the 50thmonth in a row, and overseas orders in June were the second-highestever for the month, the official said.

In the month, domestic orders fell from makers of generalmachinery, electric appliances and precision equipment, but thosefrom automakers grew for the third straight month, the associationreported.

Among orders from abroad, those from Europe rose 11.6 pct, whilethose from North America and Asia were down 19.9 pct and 4.9 pct,respectively, it said.