Japan Machinery Orders

Japan’s core machinery orders fell 11% month-on-month to ¥883.9 billion in November 2025, reversing a 7% gain in October and marking the steepest drop since April 2020. The decline was far worse than market expectations for a 5.1% fall. Manufacturing orders slid 10.8% to ¥398.2 billion, while non-manufacturing orders dropped 10.7% to ¥492.9 billion. By industry, the sharpest contractions were seen in non-ferrous metals (-66.6%), iron and steel (-37.9%), textile mill products (-33.4%), finance and insurance (-32.6%), and mining, quarrying of stone and gravel (-32.1%). On a year-on-year basis, private-sector orders fell 6.4%, reversing from a 12.5% increase in October and missing forecasts for a 4.9% gain. Core machinery orders are widely viewed as a volatile but key leading indicator of capital expenditure over the next six to nine months.