2014/10/11 14:38:06
Still, many of the manufacturers harbor hopes that the government and mainland China will reach a consensus on the on-going talks over a trade-in-goods pact so that local machine tool exports to China can enjoy tariff free status. That was considered especially important at a time when China and South Korea are set to conclude negotiations on a free trade agreement, which could give Korean products a competitive advantage.
In 2013, Taiwan ranked as the fourth largest machine tool exporter, after Germany, Japan and Italy. According to the Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders Association (TMBA), that year Taiwan sold US$3.55 billion worth of machine tools overseas, down 16.2 percent from a year earlier due to a global economic slowdown.
However, in the first eight months of this year, Taiwan's machine tool exports totaled US$2.49 billion, a 5.7 percent increase over the same period of 2013, as the world's economy was on the way to recovery.
Goodway Machine Corp., one of the local machine tool exporters which are upbeat about the fourth quarter outlook, said that it has secured about NT$2.4 billion (US$78.94 million) in orders for the three-month period.
The company said it has benefited from its niche products for certain sectors, such as the automotive, precision and medical industries, adding that it was possible for it to achieve its goal of generating NT$7.5 billion in sales for 2014.
Awea Mechantronic Co. said one plant located in Wujiang of Suzhou has started commercial production since the third quarter of this year to roll out customized computer numerical control (CNC) so its shipments for the fourth quarter could grow, accordingly.
Tong Tai Machine Tool Co. said that it has won orders worth about NT$2.5 billion for the fourth quarter, higher than that of the third quarter, due to solid demand for CNC and machine tools used by the automotive industry use.
Despite optimism toward the fourth quarter, the local machine tool sector remained worried over a China-South Korea FTA, which could hurt Taiwan's competitive edge in the huge China market in the future, local manufacturers said.
In 2013, China was the largest buyer of Taiwan's machine tools, accounting for 33.6 percent of the total exports, the TMBA statistics showed.
Local manufacturers are eager to see Taiwan cut a deal with China in the talks to eliminate tariffs on Taiwanese machine tool exports in the cross-strait trade-in-goods agreement, manufacturers said, adding that otherwise, they will encounter threats from South Korea.
http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aeco/201410110010.aspx
