Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
November 15, 2013 01:00 AM

Japan's injection press sales see rebound

Steve Toloken
Assistant Managing Editor
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    DONGGUAN, CHINA — Japan's injection molding machinery industry is seeing signs of a rebound because of a weaker yen and stronger demand in both North America and Japan, with production this year possibly topping 15,000 presses, the head of the country's plastics machinery trade association said.

    There are some dark clouds, including a tougher business environment that's squeezing profit margins, but the industry overall looks poised to see gains in production this year at its factories both in Japan and outside the country, according to Hozumi Yoda, chairman of the Tokyo-based Association of Japan Plastics Machinery.

    Japan has one of the world's largest plastics machinery industries, and typically sells higher-tech – and higher-priced – machines, so a good year could bode reasonably well for worldwide demand.

    Yoda projected that production within Japan will hit 12,000 injection molding machines this year, up from 11,500 in 2012, while production in the industry's factories outside Japan will probably be about 3,600 machines, a sizable increase.

    “We see signs of a recovery,” he said, although he added it was a modest uptick. “The auto industry is recovering.”

    Yoda, who is also president of Nagoya, Japan-based Nissei Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd, spoke during an interview at the Dongguan International Plastics, Packaging and Rubber Exhibition, or DMP trade fair, held Nov. 13-16 in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan.

    Notably, the figures suggest a solid pickup in Japanese press sales in the second half of the year. The first six months of 2013 saw Japan's industry make 5,300 machines, Yoda said, but projections call for nearly 7,000 in the second half of the year.

    The recovery is also helped by gains in some export markets in the first half of the year, particularly to the United States, South Korea, Vietnam and Mexico. On the other hand, China, the largest export market for Japan's IMM industry, struggled, Yoda said.

    In the first half of 2013, Japanese IMM exports to the United States rose almost 60 percent in yen terms, to 9.51 billion yen ($96.1 million), or about 28 percent in dollar terms, compared to the first half of 2012.

    The increase to the U.S. was led by strong sales to the automotive and medical industries, and pushed that country to be the second-largest export market for Japan, Yoda said.

    Exports to Mexico also jumped, more than doubling in yen terms, to 2.48 billion yen, according to Japanese government statistics in the November issue of The Plastics Times of Japan magazine, provided by Yoda.

    Exports also roughly doubled to both South Korea and Vietnam. Overall, the export gains reflect a Japanese yen that has fallen more than 30 percent against the U.S. dollar since late 2011, making Japan's industry more competitive globally.

    Japan exports about 60 percent of its plastics machinery.

    For China, exports plummeted from 16.2 billion yen in the first six months of 2012, to 11.5 billion yen this year, however.

    Some of that drop could be because Japanese machinery companies are building more factories in China and can therefore meet demand from within the country, but Yoda also said it also reflects caution among Chinese factories and slow sales there.

    Exports to Thailand fell way back, less than half of what they were in 2012, dropping that country from the top export destination in 2012 to number three in the first six months of this year.

    Yoda said that reflected the end of the rebuilding boom that happened after Thailand's industry was forced to replace thousands of machines lost in devastating floods in 2011.

    Japan's injection press industry has been rapidly expanding in other countries in recent years in a bid to lower its costs and better compete in emerging markets. Companies have added production in China and Thailand, and last year, in India, when Toshiba Machine Co. Ltd. bought Indian press maker L&T Plastics Machinery Ltd.

    Nissei, for example, opened a factory in Thailand this year and is starting to build a second factory in China that will triple its production capacity there when it opens next year, Yoda said.

    Still, even with the sales boom, he said Japan's plastics equipment industry is seeing profit margins suffer. JPMA statistics show that profits for Japan's plastic machinery makers were down 30 to 50 percent in the six months from April to September this year, he said.

    There is more demand within Japan for machinery, helped by more infrastructure spending, but it's not necessarily translating to higher profits for the industry, he said: “While stock prices may be higher, banks and stock companies make money, but not manufacturers.”

    Yoda said he felt that Japanese companies were maintaining their dominant market share in the important all-electric machine market in China, because Japanese machines are only a little more expensive than their Chinese competitors but offer much better performance.

    “The Japanese balance of price and performance is very good,” he said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Hoenig named Plastics Pioneers Association president
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Treaty talks stumble on debate over resin production cap
    2
    GM, Stellantis give $15M lifeline to insolvent supplier
    3
    Tekni-Plex starts $8.5M medical expansion in Costa Rica
    4
    Plastics additives one focus in Paris treaty talks
    5
    Resin Prices
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified