Economy

Japan November Machinery Orders Beat Forecast on Strong Factory Investment

Reuters file photo
Heavy machinery is seen at a construction site in Tokyo in June 2016.

Jiji Press

13:08 JST, January 20, 2025

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan’s seasonally adjusted core machinery orders in November last year grew 3.4% from the previous month, the Cabinet Office said Monday.

The core machinery orders, excluding orders for ships and power equipment, closely watched as a leading indicator for corporate capital investment, totaled ¥899.6 billion, the government agency said.

The November growth, which followed a 2.1% increase the previous month, came against the median forecast of a 0.4% drop in a Jiji Press poll of 16 economic research institutes.

Machinery orders are showing signs of picking up, the Cabinet Office said, upgrading its basic assessment.

Machinery orders from manufacturers rose 6% to ¥462.9 billion after advancing 12.5% the previous month. Core orders from nonmanufacturers were up 1.2% at ¥453.7 billion following a 1.2% decline.

Overall machinery orders, including those from the public sector and abroad, fell 14.4% to ¥2.98 trillion following a 21.1% jump.