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Growing UK trade deficit in machine tools

A Manufacturing Technologies Association product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 8, 2003

UK exports of machine tools in the first quarter of 2003 were worth GBP 85.7 million, a decline of 3.2% compared with the first quarter of 2002.

UK exports of machine tools in the first quarter of 2003 were worth GBP 85.7 million, a decline of 3.2% compared with the first quarter of 2002, while imports into the UK were worth GBP 115.8 million, a rise of 27.2% on the same basis.

This gives a trade deficit of GBP 30.0 million, which is an increase on the GBP 24.5 million deficit a year ago.

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2002, exports were 12.1% lower, and imports rose by 7.8%.

However, it is important to note that during January, there was an exceptional item in the imports series, which has distorted the overall picture.

This was an arrival from Germany, classified as 'horizontal machining centres' and estimated to have been worth about GBP 25 million.

This affects all the trends for imports and trade balance in this report; for example, this amount is equal to the increase in value recorded for total imports and for the increase in the value of CNC machine tool imports.

Exports of CNC machine tools in the first quarter of 2003 fell by 16% compared to a year earlier to GBP 46.8 million (55% of total exports), while the value of imports of CNC machine tools increased by 59% to GBP 71.8 million (62% of all imports).

Dispatches to the European Union (EU) in this period amounted to GBP 35.9 million (42% of all exports), which is 12% lower than in the first quarter of 2003; arrivals from the EU rose by 80% on the same comparison, to GBP 75.9 million (66% of total imports) - again, this increase is due to the exceptional item noted above.

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