Taiwan' s Machine Tool Exports Grew 19.3% in First 11 Months of 2005
Jan 27, 2006 Ι Industry In-Focus Ι Machinery & Machine Tools Ι By Ben, CENS
Of total machine tools sold abroad, exports of metal-cutting machine tools came to US$1.806 billion, up 20% annually, while those of metal-forming machine tools amounted to US$611.1 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 18%.
As for other individual items, the annual export growth for machining centers was 27%, lathes 28%, electric discharge machines 12%, and sawing machines 30%, while other categories grew at a slower pace. Exports of presses and shearing machines grew 16% year-on-year, and other metal-forming machine tools 29%.
Mainland China combined with Hong Kong was the largest export outlet of domestically made machine tools by absorbing US$984.71 million worth of the products in the first 11 months of last year, up 6% and accounting for 40.7% of the total exports. The U.S. stood at the second place with US$238.83 million, up 39% and commanding 9.9%. Third place went to Turkey with US$132.6 million, up 10% and accounting for 5.5%. Other major export outlets, in descending order, were Thailand, South Korea, the Netherlands, Malaysia, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Vietnam, Japan, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Brazil, and Canada.
The TMTF' s tallies also showed Taiwan imported US$1.415 billion worth of machine tools in the first 11 months of last year, down 20.3% year-on-year. Of the imports, the value for metal-cutting machine tools came to US$1.295 billion, down 23% annually, and US$120.33 million worth of metal-forming machine tools were imported, up 22%.
TMTF CEO Wang Cheng-ching attributed the decline in imported machine tools to the slump in demand for advanced machinery by the hi-tech industry. Major imported machine-tool items in the first 11 months of last year were non-conventional machine tools; machining centers; lathes; drilling, boring and milling machines; and grinding machines.
In terms of the category of metal-forming machine tools, the import value for presses and shearing machines grew 8% annually in the first 11 months of last year, while that for other metal-forming machines shot up 88%.
Based on the import statistics, Wang said demand for advanced imported machine tools used by such domestic conventional industries as automobile manufacturing and metal product manufacturing is still growing, while demand from such hi-tech industries as semiconductors, information technology, electronics, communications, and optoelectronics has been on the wane.
TMTF said Japan was Taiwan' s largest import source of machine tools by selling US$791.4 million worth of the products to the island in the first 11 months of last year, down 15% year-on-year and accounting for 55.9% of the total imports. The U.S. stood at second place with US$362.96 million, down 41% and commanding 25.6%. The third place went to Germany with US$81.28 million, up 7% and accounting for 5.7%.
Taiwan' s domestic machine-tool industry, TMTF noted, has seen a slowdown in exports and orders received since the beginning of the fourth quarter of last year. TMTF has called for domestic manufacturers to introduce new products and elevate the added value of their product to expand their market share.
Exports of Taiwan-made Machine Tools From Jan.-Nov. 2005 Unit:
| |||
Products | Jan.-Nov. 2004 | Jan.-Nov. 2005 | Annual Change (%) |
EDM, Laser-Cutting Machines | 112, 052 | 125, 909 | 12.4 |
Machining Centers | 549, 867 | 699, 060 | 27.1 |
Lathes | 359, 207 | 461, 250 | 28.4 |
Drilling, Boring, Milling Machines | 264, 746 | 251, 291 | -5.1 |
Grinding Machines | 124, 906 | 139, 961 | 12.1 |
Shaping, Sawing, Gearing Machines | 99, 640 | 129, 063 | 29.5 |
Presses & Shearing Machines | 413, 208 | 478, 110 | 15.7 |
Other Metal-Forming Machines | 103, 051 | 132, 999 | 29.1 |
Total | 2, 026, 677 | 2, 417, 643 | 19.3 |
Source: Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation |
Imports of Taiwan-made Machine Tools From Jan.-Nov. 2005 Unit:
| |||
Products | Jan.-Nov. 2004 | Jan.-Nov. 2005 | Annual Change (%) |
EDM, Laser-Cutting Machines | 1433, 340 | 1, 019, 398 | -28.9 |
Machining Centers | 45, 937 | 35, 129 | -23.5 |
Lathes | 62, 112 | 62, 428 | 0.5 |
Drilling, Boring, Milling Machines | 37, 300 | 37, 556 | 0.7 |
Grinding Machines | 66, 892 | 104, 730 | 56.6 |
Shaping, Sawing, Gearing Machines | 32, 635 | 36, 412 | 11.6 |
Presses & Shearing Machines | 81, 288 | 87, 819 | 8 |
Other Metal-Forming Machines | 17, 286 | 32, 516 | 88.1 |
Total | 1, 776, 790 | 1, 415, 988 | -20.3 |
Source: Taiwan Machine Tool Foundation |