Japan Machinery Orders

Core machinery orders in Japan, which exclude those of ships and electrical equipment, declined 6.0 percent from a month earlier in October 2019, following a 2.9 percent fall in September and compared with market expectations of a 0.9 percent increase. It marked the longest period of month-on-month contraction since a similar stretch to January 2009, mainly due to lower demand for fabricated metal products (-44.3 percent), information & communication electronics equipment (-43.7 percent), ship building (-31.9 percent), iron & steel (-21.1 percent), business oriented machinery (-15.2 percent) and general-purpose and production machinery (-10.9 percent). Meanwhile, orders for non-ferrous metals jumped 130.7 percent. Year-on-year, core machinery orders dropped 6.1 percent, after climbing 5.1 percent in September.

Core machinery orders in Japan, which exclude those of ships and electrical equipment, declined 2.9 percent from a month earlier in September 2019, following a 2.4 percent fall in August and compared with market expectations of a 0.9 percent increase. It was the third straight monthly decrease in machinery orders, as manufacturing orders dropped 5.2 percent, more than a 1.0 percent drop in the previous month, of which non-ferrous metals (-71.5 percent); other transport equipment (-49.3 percent); textile mill products (-48.1 percent); petroleum and coal products (-42.5 percent) and food and beverages (-23.1 percent). On the other hand, non-manufacturing orders rose 2.6 percent, rebounding from an 8.0 percent fall in the prior month. Year-on-year, core machinery climbed 5.1 percent, recovering from a 14.5 percent slump in August. On a quarterly basis, core machinery orders fell 2.7 percent from a year earlier in Q3, down from a 4.1 percent rise in Q2.

Core machinery orders in Japan, which exclude those of ships and electrical equipment, declined 2.4 percent from a month earlier in August 2019, following a 6.6 percent fall in July and compared with market consensus of a 2.5 percent decrease. Non-manufacturing orders went down 8 percent after dropping 15.6 percent in the previous month. On the other hand, manufacturing orders declined 1 percent after rising 5.4 percent, of which ship building (-57.5 percent), non-ferrous metals (-46.6 percent), and pulp & paper (-31.4 percent); while business machinery (22.2 percent) and information and communication electronics equipment (14.1 percent). Year-on-year, core machinery orders sank 14.5 percent, falling more than market expectations of a 10.8 percent decline and following a 0.3 percent gain in July.

Core machinery orders in Japan, which exclude those of ships and electrical equipment, declined 6.6 percent from a month earlier in July 2019, compared to market consensus of a 9.9 percent drop. Non-manufacturing orders fell a sharp 15.6 percent after surging 30.5 percent in the previous month. Meanwhile, manufacturing orders rebounded 5.4 percent after declining 1.7 percent, as food & beverages rebounded 32.1 percent after a 5.8 percent fall, and iron & steel rebounded 22.7 percent after a 2.1 percent drop. In contrast, textiles decreased 12.9 percent, but fell at a much softer pace compared to the 49.2 percent plunge recorded in June. Year-on-year, core machinery orders edged up 0.3 percent after unexpectedly rising by 12.5 percent, once again beating market expectations of a 4.5 percent fall.

Core machinery orders in Japan, which exclude those of ships and electrical equipment, rose 13.9 percent from a month earlier in June 2019, the biggest monthly gain since comparable data became available in 2005 and above market consensus of a 1.3 percent drop. There was a strong upturn in non-manufacturing orders (30.5 percent vs -9 percent in May), boosted by transportation & postal activities (91.4 percent vs -29.9 percent); real estate (97.3 percent vs -34.8 percent); and information services (19.2 percent vs -7.5 percent). In addition, manufacturing orders fell at much softer pace (-1.7 percent vs -7.4 percent), as the decline in orders softened for iron & steel (-2.1 percent vs -13.3 percent); while there was a rebound in demand for non-ferrous metals (126.5 percent vs -25.1 percent) and fabricated metal products (31 percent vs -25.8 percent). Year-on-year, core machinery orders grew unexpectedly by 12.5 percent, also beating market expectations of a 0.6 percent fall.

Japan's core machinery orders plunged 7.8 percent month-over-month in May 2019, the biggest drop since September 2018 and compared to market consensus of a 4.7 percent fall and April's 5.2 percent growth. By sector, core orders from manufacturers were 7.4 percent lower (vs 16.3 percent in April), driven by ship building (-37.6 percent), fabricated metal products (-25.8 percent), non-ferrous metals (-25.1 percent), iron & steel (-13.3 percent), general-purpose and production machinery (-11.9 percent), and other transport equipment (-7.1 percent). Orders from the service-sector dropped 9 percent (vs 1.2 percent in April), due to real estate (-34.8 percent), transportation & postal activities (-29.9 percent), and electricity supply (-23.5 percent). Year-on-year, core machinery orders fell 3.7 percent in May, after a 2.5 percent gain in April.