Japan Machinery Orders

Data Industry

Source: Japan Cabinet Office
Source Link: https://www.esri.cao.go.jp/
Frequency: Monthly
Next Release(s): September 17th, 2025 7:50 PM

Latest Updates

Japan’s total machinery orders rose 0.3% MoM in June 2025 but declined -5.3% QoQ in Q2, reflecting a broader pullback in capital investment.
- Core private-sector orders (excluding ships and electric power) increased 3.0% MoM in June and were up 0.4% QoQ in Q2, indicating some resilience in underlying domestic demand.
- Manufacturing orders fell -1.8% MoM, while non-manufacturing (ex-volatile) orders rose 1.8% MoM in June.
- Government orders surged 25.2% MoM, reversing declines in March and April, whereas foreign orders fell -6.4% MoM.
- Looking ahead, total machinery orders are forecast to rise 3.7% QoQ in Q3, but core private-sector orders are expected to decline -4.0% QoQ, suggesting softer private sector investment in the coming quarter.
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Japan machinery orders rose 3.8% MoM in May 2025, rebounding after two months of declines, but the overall Q2 forecast still points to a -1.6% QoQ contraction.
- Core private-sector orders (ex-volatile) dipped -0.6% MoM (vs -1.5% MoM expected) in May after a sharp +13.0% gain in March and a -9.1% decline in April.
- Manufacturing orders fell -1.8% MoM, while non-manufacturing (ex-volatile) edged up 1.8% MoM.
- Government orders surged 25.2% MoM, reversing a -12.4% drop in April and -31.0% in March.
- Foreign orders fell -6.4% MoM following an 8.6% MoM rise in April.
- Core private-sector orders are forecast to decline -2.1% QoQ in Q2, signaling softness in domestic capital investment.
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Japan machinery orders fell -2.3% MoM in April, following a sharp -9.4% MoM drop in March, signaling continued weakness in core capital spending.
- Private-sector core orders (ex-volatile) dropped -9.1% MoM (vs -9.7% MoM expected) in April after surging 13.0% in March.
- Manufacturing orders declined -0.6% MoM, while non-manufacturing (ex-volatile) fell -11.8% MoM.
- Government orders contracted -12.4% MoM, extending a -31.0% MoM decline in March.
- Foreign orders rebounded 6.8% MoM after a -13.1% drop in March.
- Q2 forecast: total orders expected to decline -1.6% QoQ; private-sector core orders forecasted to fall -2.1% QoQ.
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Japan machinery orders fell -9.4% MoM and -1.6% YoY in March, a large decline following two solid gains in the first two months of Q1.
- Private sector, non-volatile orders were actually up 13.0% MoM (the largest monthly increase in over a decade) and 8.4% YoY, well above expectations of -1.6% MoM and -2.2% YoY declines.
- Manufacturing orders were up 8.0% MoM, non-manufacturing (ex-volatile) orders were up 9.6% MoM.
- Foreign orders fell -13.1% MoM but were still up 9.3% YoY.
- In Q1, private sector, non-volatile order growth was 1.3% QoQ and 7.1% YoY led by non-manufacturing orders up 5.7% QoQ while manufacturing orders were down -0.9% QoQ.
- The current forecast for Q2 2025 private sector, non-volatile orders is a decline of -2.1% QoQ and -1.0% YoY.
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Japanese machinery orders were up 3.0% MoM and 18.9% YoY in February, building on a strong 9.8% MoM increase in January.
- Total private sector orders were up 12.1% MoM and, when excluding volatile orders, were up 4.3% MoM (vs 0.8% MoM expected) and 1.5% YoY.
- Private manufacturing orders were up 3.0% MoM, and private non-manufacturing orders increased 11.4% MoM.
- Foreign orders increased for the third straight month, up 3.4% MoM and 15.5% YoY.
- Government orders have been volatile in the near-term, but on an annual basis are up 40.2% YoY, driving the headline orders number higher.
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Japanese private machinery orders increased 3.5% MoM in January after large declines in November and December.
- However, excluding volatile orders, the total was actually down -3.5% MoM (vs -0.5% MoM expected), the largest decline since November 2023.
- Manufacturing orders fell -1.3% MoM, and non-manufacturing orders fell an even sharper -7.4% MoM.
- Foreign orders increased 1.9% MoM, and government orders jumped 59.7% MoM after declining sharply in November and December.
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Japanese machinery orders fell -2.9% MoM in December, and excluding volatile orders, fell -1.2% MoM, below expectations of an 0.1% MoM increase.
- Manufacturing orders crashed -10.4% MoM while non-manufacturing orders were up 4.7% MoM.
- Foreign orders jumped 8.5% MoM.
- In Q4 2024, total orders were up 5.3% QoQ and up 2.9% QoQ when excluding volatile orders.
- The forecast for Q1 2025 is an increase of 1.3% QoQ but a -2.3% QoQ decline when excluding volatile orders.
Source
Japanese machinery orders were down -14.4% MoM in November, but when excluding volatile orders, they were up 3.4% MoM and 10.3% YoY which beat expectations of an -0.4% MoM decline and a smaller 5.6% YoY increase. Manufacturing orders increased at a strong 6.0% MoM after increasing 12.5% MoM in October. Non-manufacturing orders were tamer at 1.2% MoM.

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Japanese machinery orders jumped 21.1% MoM in October after two straight months of decline. The core reading of orders, private sector (ex volatile orders) was still solid at 2.1% MoM, turning around from a weak Q3 were sales were down -1.3% QoQ. The current forecast for Q4 2024 is an increase of 5.7% QoQ in core machinery orders including a 12.2% QoQ increase in non-manufacturing orders and a 27.0% QoQ increase in government orders.

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