Total orders for Japanese manufacturers of metal cutting machine tools were +1.7% higher than in the 1st quarter of 2025 and grew by +3.4% compared to the second quarter of last year. Within the total, home orders fell by -6.7% quarter-on-quarter while export demand grew by 5.3%; compared to the same quarter last year (Q2-2024) there was a decline of -4.2% in home orders, but growth of +6.6% in export orders.
The Japan Machine Tool Builders Association (JMTBA) publishes monthly data on orders received by Japanese manufacturers. Unlike the U.S. data, this represents total business activity by domestic producers rather than overall market demand. The figures cover only metal-cutting machine tools, as metal-forming machines are reported separately by a different industry association. That said, because Japan has a relatively low import ratio, the domestic orders series serves as a reliable indicator of overall market conditions.
The Japanese manufacturers’ orders are split 27% domestic and 73% overseas in the 2nd quarter of 2025, which is the highest export ratio since we started to track this data in 2015. The largest export markets for Japanese manufacturers of metal cutting machines in Q2-2025 were China (34% of total export orders), the USA (27%), the EU (12%) and India (7%).
The JMTBA report also provides a breakdown of domestic orders by industry. The largest sector is industrial machinery (40% of the total), but this is a very broad category with a large number of sub-groups. The automotive industry accounted for 19% of total domestic orders in Q2-2025, with two-thirds of this in components.
The fastest growth in domestic orders was from “government, public agencies & schools”, where orders grew by 64% quarter-on-quarter, although this is a very small category. Strong growth was also seen in electrical machinery where orders grew by +47% quarter-on-quarter. The automotive industry, however, fell by -32% quarter-on-quarter.
You can access the JMTBA report at https://www.jmtba.or.jp/english/category/machine-tool-orders/ (July. 30, 2025) or we can send you the summary of the data – contact Martin Redhead at MTA (email: [email protected]) if you want this analysis. A chart showing the 12-month rolling totals is available to download below.