First-quarter deficit in trade in machine tool products decreased

The export value of China's machine tool products continued the growth trend in 2012, but the negative growth of imports increased and the trade deficit further reduced.

Under the background of the global economic downturn, the foreign trade of China's machine tool products has maintained a relatively stable growth. In the first quarter, the export value of China's machine tool products was 960 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 8.52% year-on-year, basically continuing last year's trend. The amount of imports was 2.9 billion U.S. dollars, which fell sharply and decreased by nearly 15% year-on-year. The trade deficit has also dropped from 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of 2012 to 1.96 billion U.S. dollars, and the trade deficit has contracted more significantly.

Machine tool export growth rebounded <br> <br> machine tool exports increased mainly due to export prices; export growth rose slightly in the case of the continuation of the trend of the second half of 2012.

According to customs statistics, the growth rate of machine tool exports has slowed down significantly since June 2012. It can be seen that international orders for machine tools have been significantly reduced in 2012 due to the impact of the international economic situation. In the first quarter of 2013, the overall situation continued to continue in the second half of 2012. The increase was slightly but not significant. It can be seen that the impact of the economic situation will continue for some time.

<br> <br> year decline in CNC machine tools metalworking machine tools for the major part of China's machine tool exports, year on year decline in CNC machine tools, combined machine tools and machining centers increase significantly.

In the first quarter, metal processing machine tools exported 680 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 70.6% of total machine tool exports. The export value of metal processing machines increased by 7.65% year-on-year, which was lower than the overall export growth rate of machine tools. Among them, the export of CNC machine tools was US$160 million, a year-on-year decrease of 12.36%, which was the main factor causing the increase in machine tool exports to be inconspicuous. The increase in the export of machining centers and combined machine tools was significant at 28.5% and 65.7%, respectively.

From the perspective of export markets, in the first quarter of 2013, China’s major machine tool export markets remained the markets of Asia and Europe and the United States, each accounting for about 40% of the export value; the remaining two were occupied by markets such as Latin America and Africa. Among them, the export growth in Africa and North America continued the rapid growth in 2012, with an increase of 22.1% and 32.57% respectively.

General trade is the main trade <br> <br> China's machine tool export trade in general trade; Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, exports accounted for 60% of the country's machine tool exports.

Judging from the trade pattern, in the first quarter of this year, general trade was the main trading method for machine tool exports, accounting for 81.8%, up 6.88% year-on-year; followed by processing trade, accounting for 12.69%, up 14.58% year-on-year.

The export of machine tools is mainly concentrated in Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangdong. Among them, Shandong's exports grew rapidly in the first quarter, an increase of 31.3% year-on-year, exceeding Zhejiang's second-largest export base for machine tools. The northeast old industrial base and the machine tool industry in the Midwest are also gradually forming industrial clusters centered on leading enterprises.

The number of machine tool imports dropped significantly

In the first quarter, the import volume of China's machine tool products dropped significantly, and the import price was basically the same as that of the same period of last year. The total number of imported machine tools was approximately 25,000, a year-on-year decrease of 16%; the import amount was US$2.9 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 14.8%; and the import unit price was US$117,000 per unit, an increase of 1.7% over the same period of last year.

The tension between China and Japan led to a sharp drop in the number of imported Japanese machine tools and a change in market structure. From the import market and country perspective, the structure of China's machine tool import market is still dominated by Asia and Europe, with imports accounting for nearly 95% of the total. However, the market structure has been dominated by Asia, which accounted for more than 60% of the past, and it has become equal to Europe and Asia. In the first quarter, China’s machine tool products imported from Japan decreased by 35% year-on-year. The machine tools imported from Germany, the United States and other markets have increased significantly. To a certain extent, they are also used as substitutes for Japanese machine tools. However, due to their relatively high prices, they cannot completely compensate for the vacancy in the Japanese market. The sharp decrease in the Japanese market is also the main reason that the total import volume of China's machine tools has fallen by a large margin compared with the same period of last year.

Import and export price difference between the number of times <br> <br> China's machine tool imports with high-end products, 475 times the average import price of the export price. China's non-metal processing machine tool manufacturing level is higher, the import volume is smaller; the vast majority of imported machine tools for metal processing machine tools, metal machining machine tool imports in the first quarter was 2.7 billion US dollars, accounting for 93% of the total imports of machine tool products. The average unit price of imported machine tools is US$117,000, which is 275 times the average unit price of exports; the average unit price of imported metal processing machine tools is as much as US$140,000, while the average price of domestic metal cutting machine tools exported is only US$412.

This reflects that domestic high-end products have both technical defects and industrialization. They are still unable to meet the requirements of users in terms of product quality, technical indicators, and user services. China is currently a big country of machine tools, but it is far from the powerhouse of machine tools. There is still a big gap between the goals.