A Report for Current Status of Taiwanese Machine Tools Industry in May 2008
By Mr. C. C. Wang
Vice President, TAMI
The exports in May2008 grew 19.9% over last year; the imports decreased 11.2% which is resulted from the high-tech industry's unstable demands.
1. Exports of Taiwan Machine Tools
Based on the customs statistics from January to May 2008, the total export value of Taiwan machine tools reached US$ 1.57 billion reflecting a 19.9% growth compared to last year. The export is increasing steady. Among which cutting tools shared US$ 1.25 billion with growth of 22.9% comparing with the same period in last year. Forming machine tools shared US$ 315 million with a growth of 9.3%.
(1) Exports Categorized by Products
To categorize by products among machine tools, machining centers grew 24.1%, lathes by 35.2%, grinding machines increased by 8.9% and milling machines by 20.7%. Among forming machine tools, forging and punch presses increased by 5.6%, and other forming machine tools reduced by 25.9% when comparing with the same period in last year. Refer to Table 1 for details.
(2) Exports Categorized by Countries
To rank by countries, China and Hong Kong were first with an export value of US$ 456 billion, sharing 29.0% of the total export value and showing a negative 2.3% growth. The US ranked second with an amount of US$ 136 million, sharing 8.6% of the total export value and showing a 3.9% decrease. Germany ranked third with the amount of US$ 87 million, sharing 5.6% of the total and had 82.1% growth comparing to the same period in last year. Following are Turkey, Italy, Holland, India, Brazil, Thailand and Korea. Refer to Table 2 for details.
2. Imports of Taiwan Machine Tools
According to Customs statistics from January to May 2008, the import value of Taiwan machine tools amounted to US$ 850 billion, which was 11.2% less than the last year. Among which cutting machine tools amounted to US$ 888 million which increased by 12.2% compared to the previous year. Forming machine tool shared US$ 41 million which had a growth of 11.6%.
(1) Imports Categorized by Products
From January to May 2008 the major imported machine tools were unconventional machine tools which dropped by 15.0% over the last year. Among which machining centers has a growth of 24.2%; lathes increased by 14.4%; boring and milling machines increased by 11.4% and grinding machines decreased by 21.1%.
As for the imports of forming machine tools, forging and punch presses dropped by 33.0%, and other forming machines decreased by 53.0%. The statistics also indicate that the demand for imported equipment from conventional industries such as automotive and metal working continues to grow steady. Refer to Table 3 for details.
(2) Imports Categorized by Countries
To rank the countries from which Taiwan imported machine tools from January to May 2008, Japan was the first with an amount of US$ 537 billion, sharing 63.1% of the total import value and reflecting a 37.9% growth. The US ranked second with an amount of US$ 200 million, sharing 23.5% of the total import value. This reflected a 50.1% negative growth. Germany ranked third with an amount of US$ 19 million, sharing 2.3% of the total and reduced by 37.0%. Refer to Table 4 for details.
