Japón Actividad económica March 2023

Japón: Core machinery orders decrease in March

Core machinery orders—which cover the private sector, exclude volatile orders and are a leading indicator for capital spending over the coming three-to-six-month period—dropped 3.9% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in March (February: -4.5% mom).

On an annual basis, machinery orders fell 3.5% in March (February: +9.8% yoy). Meanwhile, annual average machinery orders growth fell to 4.1% in March (February: +5.6%), signaling a worsening trend in the sector.

Despite the decline, the March print means that core machinery orders were up 2.6% quarter on quarter in Q1. In the press release, the statistical office also forecasted that core machinery orders would rise 4.6% in Q2 quarter on quarter.