The nation’s machine tool exports rose 15.1 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of the year, thanks to improving sentiment in the sector’s major markets, the Taiwan Machine Tool and Accessory Builders’ Association (TMBA, 台灣工具機暨零組件公會) said on Monday.
From January through last month, machine tool exports totaled US$3.02 billion, up from US$2.62 billion the previous year, data compiled by the Taichung-based association showed.
By product breakdown, exports of metal-cutting machines grew 16.1 percent year-on-year from US$2.17 billion to US$2.52 billion, while metal-forming machines rose 10 percent from US$455.44 million to US$500.83 million, TMBA data showed.
Machine tool exports to China, the sector’s largest export destination, jumped 29.3 percent from US$816.69 million to US$1.06 billion over the period, and shipments to the US, the second-largest export destination, rose 3 percent from US$319.6 million to US$329.06 million, the association said.
Exports to Turkey, the third-largest destination, declined 7.9 percent from US$136.37 million to US$125.66 million, while shipments to Germany were 15.3 percent higher at US$114.52 million, compared with US$99.29 million the previous year, TMBA data showed.
The association is more upbeat about the demand for machine tools in Germany next year, given improving sentiment in the manufacturing industry there, it said.
The export data also reflected good sales results by major players during the 11-month period, statistics released by the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Monday showed.
The nation’s two leading machine tool makers, Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技) and Tongtai Machine and Tool Co Ltd (東台精機), both posted increases in their cumulative sales from January to last month, with Hiwin’s sales growing 31.02 percent annually to NT$19.03 billion (US$634.21 million) and Tongtai’s sales rising 3.4 percent to NT$8.73 billion.
Anderson Industrial Corp (恩德), Awea Mechantronic Co (亞崴) and Kao Fong Machinery Co (高鋒) also reported that their cumulative sales hit historic company highs, with 21.72 percent, 17.74 percent and 22.28 percent annual growth reaching NT$4.09 billion, NT$3.85 billion and NT$2.5 billion respectively, stock exchange data showed.
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