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UK machine tool sector heads for trade surplus

A Manufacturing Technologies Association product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jan 20, 2005

With publication of the trade statistics for the 3rd quarter of 2004, it is looking likely that the UK machine tool sector will record a trade surplus for the year as a whole.

With publication of the trade statistics for the third quarter of 2004, it is looking likely that the UK machine tool sector will record a trade surplus for the year as a whole, reports the MTA.

Exports of machine tools from the UK for the period from January to September 2004 were running +3% up on the same period in 2003, whereas imports in this period were -9% down using the same comparison.

It is worth noting however that the lower import value in 2004 is roughly equivalent to the value of a large exceptional item from early in 2003.

UK exports of machine tools in the third quarter of 2004 were worth GBP 94.4 million; this is -12.3% lower than in the third quarter of 2003 and is -6.7% down on the second quarter of 2004.

The total for the first nine months of 2004 is GBP 298.0 million, an increase of +2.8% on the same months of 2003.

On the same basis, UK imports of machine tools increased by +12.0% compared with the third quarter of 2003 to GBP 94.1 million; this is +1.3% up on the second quarter of 2004.

For January to September 2004, total imports were worth GBP 273.3 million, a reduction of -9.3% on the same months last year, although the earlier period included an exceptional item which we think was worth about GBP 35 million.

The trade surplus for the industry in the third quarter was GBP 0.3 million, making a total of GBP 24.7 million for the first nine months of the year; this compares with a deficit of GBP 11.4 million in the same period of 2003.

Analysis of trade with the European Union is complicated by the accession of 10 new countries in the middle of the second quarter, but there was a small fall in exports using both the old EU15 or the new EU25 aggregates; meanwhile imports from the EU fell sharply, mainly as a result of the "one-off" item highlighted above.

In terms of products, there was a significant trade surplus for machining centres (+GBP 32.1 million), CNC grinding machines (+GBP 15.2 million) and "other" metal forming machines (+GBP 12.1 million); the most significant deficits were in CNC lathes (-GBP 15.7 million) and CNC punching machines (-GBP 10.7 million).

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