Exports of Taiwan-made Machine Tools Amount to US$4 B. in 2011
2012/03/14 | By Ben ShenTaipei, March 14, 2012 (CENS)--Taiwan exported US$4 billion of machine tools in 2011, up 35.1% year-on-year, according to customs-cleared statistics compiled by the Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation (TMTF).
Exports of metal-cutting machine tools amounted to US$3.287 billion, up 41% year-on-year and that for metal-forming machine tools came to US$712.64 million, up 13.1%.
Annualized export growth of machining centers, lathes and grinding machines reached 48.8%, 52.7% and 43.2% in 2011, respectively. Exports of presses and shearing machines grew 13.5% year-on-year in 2011 and that for other metal-forming machines was up 11.6%.
China and Hong Kong together remained the largest outlet by absorbing US$1.545 billion of Taiwan-made machine tools in 2011, up 13.5% year-on-year and accounting for 38.6% of the total exports. The second place went to the U.S. with US$353.87 million, up 117.5% and commanding 8.8%. Turkey stood at third place with US$200.14 million, up 73.2% and commanding 5%.
Other major outlets, in descending orders, were Thailand, Germany, India, Brazil, Malaysia, the Netherlands, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Japan and Russia.
The TMTF's tallies also show that Taiwan imported US$828.91 million of machine tools in 2011, up 17.8% year-on-year, of which metal-cutting machine tools came to US$714.98 million, up 24.9%, metal-forming machine tools amounted to US$139.3 million, down 13.2%.
Japan was the island's largest supplier by exporting US$507.64 million of machine tools to Taiwan in 2011, up 21.1% year-on-year and accounting for 61.2% of the total imports. Switzerland stood at second place with US$71.12 million, up a whopping 51.4% and commanding 8.6%. The third place went to Germany with US$70.25 million, up 14.2% and commanding 8.5%.
TMTF CEO C.C. Wang noted the biggest problems facing domestic machine-tool manufacturers in the months to come will be the price volatility of cast iron, the instability for the supply of key components, and the appreciation of New Taiwan dollars against the greenback. In addition, the implementation of the free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the U.S. on March 15 will impact the performance of domestic machine-tool firms in the U.S. and European markets.
Exports of Taiwan-made Machine Tools in 2011 by Products | |||
Products | 2010 | 2011 | Annual Change (%) |
EDM, Laser-cutting Machines | 145,886 | 183,881 | 26 |
Machining Centers | 939,276 | 1,397,785 | 48.8 |
Lathes | 551,516 | 842,064 | 52.7 |
Drilling, Boring, Milling Machines | 357,596 | 401,687 | 12.3 |
Grinding Machines | 177,785 | 254,546 | 43.2 |
Shaping, Sawing, Gearing Machines | 159,225 | 207,903 | 30.6 |
Presses and Shearing Machines | 484,385 | 549,751 | 13.5 |
Other Metal-forming Machines | 145,947 | 162,891 | 11.6 |
Total | 2,961,616 | 4,000,508 | 35.1 |
Source: Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation |
Imports of Machine Tools into Taiwan in 2011 by Products | |||
Products | 2010 | 2011 | Annual Change (%) |
EDM, Laser-cutting Machines | 256,982 | 313,396 | 22 |
Machining Centers | 51,667 | 92,970 | 79.9 |
Lathes | 91,503 | 97,230 | 6.3 |
Drilling, Boring, Milling Machines | 32,693 | 29,708 | -9.1 |
Grinding Machines | 76,180 | 102,660 | 34.8 |
Shaping, Sawing, Gearing Machines | 63,342 | 79,021 | 24.8 |
Presses and Shearing Machines | 115,649 | 88,043 | -23.9 |
Other Metal-forming Machines | 15,602 | 25,888 | 65.9 |
Total | 703,618 | 828,916 | 17.8 |
Source: Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation |