[Reporter Lin Jinghua/Reported from Taipei] Taiwan's machine tool exports show two situations: "complete machines are sluggish, but parts and components are growing against the trend"! According to statistics from the Machine Tool Association, exports of complete machine tools in the first ten months of this year were US$1.659 billion, a slight decrease of 0.2% from the same period last year. Overall exports still lacked growth momentum; however, exports of key components performed well, with cumulative exports of US$1.423 billion, an annual increase of 14.5%, of which October saw an annual increase of 27.4%. According to the association's analysis, there are differences in overseas demand for complete machines and components. Emerging manufacturing markets such as India and Vietnam, as well as some European markets, are important directions for the subsequent layout of Taiwan's machine tool industry.
According to statistics from the Machine Tool Association, the export value of machine tools in October this year was US$167 million, a monthly decrease of 0.5% and an annual increase of 18.49%. Among them, the export value of metal cutting machine tools in October 2026 is approximately US$133 million; the export value of metal forming machine tools in October 2026 is approximately US$33.27 million; the cumulative export value of machine tools in the first ten months is US$1.659 billion, a slight decrease of 0.2% compared with the same period in 2025. Among them, the cumulative export value of metal cutting machine tools was approximately US$1.350 billion, a decrease of 1.8% compared with the same period last year, and the cumulative export value of metal forming machine tools was US$309 million, an increase of 7.4% compared with the same period last year.
By country, the top ten countries in terms of export value of machine tools in the first ten months of this year were China (including Hong Kong), the United States, India, Vietnam, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands.
In addition, key machine tool components include workpiece holders, indexing heads or other special machine tool accessories, metal cutting machine tool parts and accessories, metal forming machine tool parts and accessories, ball screws, and linear slides. According to the single-month export performance of key machine tool components, the export value of key machine tool components in October 2026 was US$158 million, showing a monthly increase of 8.1%, and the annual growth rate reached 27.4%. The cumulative export value of key parts and components of machine tools from January to October 2026 was approximately US$1.423 billion, an increase of 14.5% compared with the same period in 2025.
The Machine Tool Association analyzed that in the first ten months of this year, Taiwan's machine tool industry showed a trend of flat machine exports and continued growth in key component exports. Import demand also remained strong, reflecting differences in market demand for equipment and components at home and abroad.
In terms of markets, exports of machine tools have performed well in markets such as India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Germany, demonstrating the growth potential of emerging manufacturing markets in Asia and some European markets; for key components, Italy, South Korea, India and Vietnam have achieved significant growth, indicating that demand for overseas components remains stable. Overall, Taiwan's machine tool industry still faces the challenge of insufficient growth momentum in exports of complete machines, but exports of key components have maintained double-digit growth, demonstrating a certain degree of resilience. In the future, we will continue to pay attention to emerging manufacturing market demand and overseas supply chain layout, as well as overseas manufacturing investment trends.
