Taiwan Machine Tool and Accessory Builders’ Association chairman Patrick Chen, center, vice chairman Alan Lin, third left, and other association representatives pose for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The US was the second-largest export market for local machine tool and accessory companies, accounting for about 16 percent of total exports last year, behind China. “This year represents a pivotal shift in the machine tool industry’s trajectory,” Chen said. Last year, Taiwan’s machine tool exports fell 9.6 percent year-on-year to US$2 billion and shipments of machine tool components fell 0.3 percent to US$1.506 billion, as demand dipped almost across all markets, hitting the weakest level since the global financial crisis in 2019, association data showed. Metal-cutting machine tool exports fell 10 percent to US$1.65 billion, machine centers slumped 8.3 percent to US$603.48 million, lathes dropped 18.3 percent to US$435.77 million and metal-forming machinery slid 7.8 percent to US$353.35 million, the data showed.

Source: Taipei Times January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC