This report from the Cabinet Office Economic and Social Research Institute presents machinery orders statistics for May 2025, detailing order trends and assessment of underlying conditions.
Core machinery orders, excluding ships and electric power companies, which serve as a leading indicator for private capital investment, decreased 0.6% from the previous month in May, marking the second consecutive monthly decline. Breaking this down by sector, manufacturing orders fell 1.8% while non-manufacturing orders (excluding ships and electric power) rose 1.8%. Total orders increased 3.8% month-on-month to 3,089.6 billion yen.
Looking at demand by category, total private-sector orders surged 19.8% from the previous month to 1,254.7 billion yen, driven by large orders for ships and electric power projects. Government orders increased 25.2% to 499.0 billion yen due to growth in defense ministry and other government agency orders. Overseas orders decreased 6.4% to 1,263.6 billion yen as declines in electronic and communications equipment and ships offset other gains. Orders through agencies rose 11.1% to 141.3 billion yen, supported by increases in industrial machinery and road vehicles.
Within manufacturing sectors, petroleum and coal products orders jumped 152.4% and non-ferrous metals soared 259.4% from the previous month, while chemical industry orders plunged 38.7% and shipbuilding dropped 77.1%. In non-manufacturing industries, electric power companies saw orders surge 172.1% and real estate increased 76.5%.
On a quarterly basis, core machinery orders rose 3.9% in the January-March 2025 quarter, accelerating from the 2.3% increase in October-December 2024. The outlook for April-June 2025 anticipates a 2.1% quarter-on-quarter decline.
Based on these trends, the report maintains the assessment that machinery orders are "showing signs of picking up," unchanged from the previous month.