Japan Machinery Orders Tumble in May

Tokyo, July 8 (Jiji Press)--Japan's core machinery orders dropped
at their fastest pace since August 2008 in May, signaling that companies,
notably electric machinery makers, reined in spending out of concern about
slowing exports.
Private-sector machinery orders excluding those for ships and power
equipment, a leading indicator of corporate capital spending, fell 9.1 pct
from the previous month to 692.9 billion yen after seasonal adjustment, the
first decline in three months, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
The government agency kept unchanged its assessment, saying that
there are signs that machinery orders are picking up.
But Keisuke Tsumura, parliamentary secretary for economic and
fiscal policy at the Cabinet Office, said that the pace of recovery in
machinery orders may be slower than expected.
Total orders, including public-sector and overseas orders, fell
10.8 pct to 1,742.8 billion yen, the second straight decrease.
Orders from manufacturers declined 13.5 pct to 256.2 billion yen.
Those from electric machinery makers fell in particular as demand for
flat-panel television sets slowed due to a review of models eligible for
government incentives.
Orders from nonmanufacturers, excluding ship and power equipment
orders, decreased 6.0 pct to 436.0 billion yen due mainly to a slump in
those from transport service companies.
Tsumura said that it is uncertain whether core orders will attain
the government's forecast of a 1.6 pct quarter-on-quarter increase in the
April-June period. To achieve the forecast, orders should increase by at
least 5.5 pct in June.