[KMTI ⑫] 5.5% Expansion Rebound

5.5% Expansion Rebound Fueled by Export Orders

Machine tool orders received by Korean producers reached 3.7 trillion won in 2013, a 5.5% expansion over the previous year. Export orders scored an 8.7% increase, registering 1.9 trillion won, while domestic orders reaped 1.77 trillion won, a 2.3% year-on-year rise.

By machine type, NC cutting machines took the lion’s share of Korean companies’ orders at 3.1 trillion won, a sharp on-year increase of 9.7%. However, orders for general cutting machines and metal forming machines slid by 18.1% and 10.8%, respectively, to 1.38 trillion won and 3,22 trillion won.

Three major items – NC lathes, machining centers and presses – combined to record 2.9 billion won in orders received by Korean producers, accounting for 79% of the total order volume.

In terms of orders by industrial sector, automobile and automotive parts manufacturers marked negative growth of 5.1% at 592 billion won, while general machinery producers increased orders by 12.4% to 322.6 billion won.

Sluggish domestic demand and a slowdown in new model launches were cited for the order reduction in the automotive sector.

Among the sectors that posted an increase in orders were electric, electronics and IT at 49.3% (210 billion won), shipbuilding and aerospace at 28% (104.8 billion won), and precision machinery at 10.3% (210 billion won). The sectors experiencing negative order growth in addition to automobiles included metal products at –11.5% (161.8 billion won) and steel & nonferrous metals at 127.2 billion won.