Japan's machinery orders rise 2.1% in October, beating expectations

Japan's core machinery orders, excluding those for ships and electric power companies, increased by 2.1% month-on-month to 869.8 billion yen in October 2024, marking the end of three consecutive months of decline and surpassing market expectations, which had anticipated a more modest 1.2% rise.

Japan's machinery orders rise 2.1% in October, beating expectations

Orders from the manufacturing sector surged by 12.5% to 436.8 billion yen, while non-manufacturing orders fell by 1.2% to 448.4 billion yen. Notable gains were seen in industries such as pulp, paper, and paper products (up 560%), electricity supply (up 116.2%), iron and steel (up 75.7%), non-ferrous metals (up 65.4%), and other transport equipment (up 49.9%).

Japan machinery orders up 5.6% in October

Every year, private-sector machinery orders rose by 5.6% in October, reversing a 4.8% decline in September and significantly exceeding forecasts of a 0.7% increase.