Taiwan machine tool exports up 9% in 1H

Despite the sovereign debt crisis in the European Union, and the sluggish global consumer market, the Taiwanese machine tool export value is expected to reach US2.09 billion from January to June in 2012, a slight 9% growth compared with the same period last year, according to Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders’ Association.

China is still the biggest consumer for Taiwan machine tool industry, but its market share has dropped to 34% from 43% since 2011. This year, the exported value to China is US$790 million from January to June, a 14.5% slump when comparing with the corresponding period last year. United States is the second largest importer of Taiwan machine tool manufacturers, whose market share has climbed to 12% from 2011’s 7%. Moreover, the export value to the U.S. had reached US$249 million in the first half of 2012, a significant 89% growth, compared with the same level in 2011. The third largest exporting country of Taiwanese machine tool industry is Thailand. It shows a significant growth with 85% in export value compared with last year.