Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/12/2021
By: Chung Jung-feng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) The local machine tool industry is forecast to stage a rebound in the second quarter of this year after weakness in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused global demand to plunge, the Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association (TMBA) said Tuesday.

Citing a survey of its members, the TMBA said momentum will continue into the third quarter, forecasting that the production value for the whole of 2021 will increase by 15-20 percent year-on-year.

In 2020, Taiwan's machine tool exports plunged 29.7 percent from a year earlier to NT$2.154 billion (US$75.58 billion) after outbound sales for December fell 18.2 percent from a year earlier to NT$206 million, according to data compiled by the association. The December exports, however, rose 9.3 percent from a month earlier.

The 2020 slowdown came after the pandemic prompted many countries to implement lockdowns, which led to a shrinkage in global demand for machine tools, the TMBA said.
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