Core Machinery Orders Fall 8.3％ over Slowdown Worries

Jiji Press

10:30 JST, January 19, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s core machinery orders fell 8.3% in November from the previous month after seasonal adjustment, as demand from manufacturers was sluggish due to concerns over a global economic slowdown, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday.

Private-sector orders excluding those for ships and power equipment, closely watched as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, came to ¥838.8 billion.

The Cabinet Office lowered its basic view on machinery orders, saying that it is showing signs of a standstill.

“There is a view that overseas economies are slowing down, and the overall trend has been facing down recently,” an official at the government agency said.

Orders from manufacturers fell 9.3% to ¥386 billion, weighed on by a slump in semiconductor production equipment amid falling demand for computers and smartphones. Orders from nonferrous metal makers shrank in reaction to a large-scale order the month before.

Orders from nonmanufacturers declined 3.0% to ¥469.8 billion, due to weak demand from the information service sector.

Overall machinery orders, including those from the public sector and abroad, shrank 1.0% to ¥2.65 trillion.