Taiwan Exports 14.2%More Machine Tools in First 10 Months of 2008

Taipei, Jan. 6, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan exported US$3.23 billion worth of machine tools in the first 10 months of 2008, a moderate 14.2% year-on-year growth, said the non-profit Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation (TMTF). Of the two major categories of the products, metal-cutting machine tools saw exports grew 15.8% year-on-year to reach US$2.574 billion; exports for metal-forming machine tools amounted to US$656.94 million, up 8.2%. The TMTF export figures are tabled below.

Mainland China and Hong Kong together absorbed the most Taiwan-made machine tools, buying US$966.06 million of the products in the first 10 months of 2008, down 8.5% and accounting for 29.9% of the total exports. The U.S. was second with US$285.16 million, up 3.5% and commanding 8.8%. The third place went to Germany with US$188.21 million, up a whopping 55.8% and accounting for 5.8%.

Other major export outlets, in descending orders, were Turkey, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, India, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Japan, and Indonesia.

The TMTF tallies also showed Taiwan imported US$1.4 billion worth of machine tools in the first 10 months of 2008, down 35.5% from a year earlier. Of this, imports for metal-cutting machine tools came to US$1.316 billion, down 37% and that for metal-forming machine tools amounted to US$83.89 million, up 0.5%.

Japan was the biggest supplier by selling US$855.269 million of machine tools to Taiwan in the first 10 months of 2008, down 9.1% and accounting for 60.9% of the total imports. The USA was second with US$287.19 million, down 67.6% and commanding 20.5%. Germany was the third-largest supplier with US$78.73 million, up 27.7% and accounting for 5.6%.

TMTF chief executive C.C. Wang said most machine-tool producing nations in Asia and North America believed they would see moderate growths in production and export in 2008 relative to the preceding year.

Despite remarkable performance in the first 10 months of 2008, Wang warned that the domestic machine-tool industry has seen shrinking growths in both production and orders received since the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2008.

Exports of Taiwan-made Machine Tools (Jan.-Oct. 2008) Unit: US$1,000
Products	Jan.-Oct. 2007	Jan.-Oct. 2008	Annual Change (%)
EDM, Laser-cutting Machines	121,298	137,326	13.2
Machining Centers	927,041	1,054,385	13.7
Lathes	558,459	735,590	31.7
Drilling, Boring, Milling Machines	296,736	317,833	7.1
Grinding Machines	165,544	166,646	0.7
Shaping, Sawing, Gearing Machines	153,546	162,236	5.7
Presses and Shearing Machines	498,302	528,229	6
Other Metal-forming Machines	109,009	128,714	18.1
Total	2,829,935	3,230,959	14.2
Source: Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation

Imports of Machine Tools into Taiwan (First 10 Months of 2008) Unit: US$1,000
Products	Jan.-Oct. 2007	Jan.-Oct. 2008	Annual Change (%)
EDM, Laser-cutting Machines	1,828,695	1,046,064	-42.8
Machining Centers	44,212	46,108	4.3
Lathes	78,819	71,674	-9.1
Drilling, Boring, Milling Machines	37,436	37,064	-1
Grinding Machines	69,868	83,014	18.8
Shaping, Sawing, Gearing Machines	29,659	32,746	10.4
Presses and Shearing Machines	65,219	74,503	14.2
Other Metal-forming Machines	18,225	9,389	-48.5
Total	2,172,133	1,400,562	-35.5
Source: Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation