Taiwan No.5 maker of machine tools in the world

Taipei, Aug. 26, 2005 (CENS)--Bolstered by the increased demand of the mainland Chinese market, Taiwan saw overall production value of machine tools hit NT$96.5 billion (US$3.01 billion at US$1:NT$32) last year, ranking fifth in the global machine-tool industry, advancing one notch from the preceding year and hitting a historic high record.

The tallies were recently released by the Cabinet-level Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Despite the outstanding performance of domestic machine-tool manufacturers, Taiwan's high-tech firms still heavily relied on imported models. The DGBAS statistics showed Taiwan imported more than NT$40 billion (US$1.25 billion) worth of semiconductor manufacturing equipment last year.

DGBAS said machine tools are the most critical product for industrially advanced and emerging nations as they are the most important capital goods for the production of other kinds of machines, production equipment and relevant mechanical parts.

Major items of machine tools made by Taiwan last year were machining centers, pressing and shearing machines, and CNC (computerized numerically controlled) lathes.

Taiwan's export-oriented machine-tool industry scored NT$75.2 billion (US$2.35 billion) in export value last year, up 30.5% year-on-year. Of major machine tool items, machining centers ranked first with exports of NT$20.1 billion (US$628.12 million), followed by pressing and shearing machines with NT$15.4 billion (US$481.25 million), and CNC lathes with NT$8 billion (US$250 million).

DGBAS attributed the substantial export growth of the industry to the constant increase in demand from mainland China. Taiwan stood at the fourth place globally in terms of exports last year. Mainland China absorbed 49% of the exports of domestically made machine tools last year, followed by the U.S. and Turkey each commanding 14%.

Despite its leading position in the world machine-tool arena, Taiwan imported NT$66.3 billion (US$2.07 billion) worth of advanced machine tools from industrialized nations last year. Imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment amounted to NT$42.1 billion (US$1.31 billion) and those of laser processing machines hit NT$10.4 billion (US$325 million).

Of the major import sources, Japan ranked first by supplying 52.8% of the total imports, followed by the U.S. with 34%, and Germany with 4.3%.