Metal processing and industrial products in Vietnam have a bright future

The uncertainty of the global economy can be clearly felt from the manufacturing industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Economic growth is slowing in some major Asian countries such as Japan, China and India, which is expected to have a 'trickle-down effect' on the metalworking industry, which relies heavily on manufacturing. The global economic crisis in 2009 had a huge impact on the manufacturing industry, resulting in a slowdown in the growth of the metalworking industry. Growth in the Asia-Pacific metalworking industry is expected to remain subdued in 2012 as another global economic crisis looms. In 2009, the global machine tool production value dropped from $81 billion in 2008 to $55 billion. Asian countries account for about 50% of the global machine tool market share ($27 billion), surpassing European countries. In this economic crisis, the hardest hit Asian country is Japan, whose output value of machine tool industry has dropped by nearly 60% compared with the previous year. In 2009, China ranked first in the world in new machine tool consumption. In 2010, China's CNC machine tool production increased by about 65% year-on-year. In the past few years, the Vietnamese government has taken some reform measures in order to realize the transformation from an agricultural-driven to an industrial-driven economic structure. In 2011, Vietnam's economic growth rate is expected to reach 5.9% (6.78% in 2010), which is quite an achievement considering the weak global economic environment. Vietnam has established trade relations with more than 150 countries and regions, and the trade volume with other countries has been rising steadily, which has played a vital role in its economic development. Vietnam mainly imports machinery, components, refined oil, steel, textile raw materials, leather and cloth from mainland China and Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. In 2010, the annual growth rate of Vietnam's industrial production was 19%, while the annual growth rate of imported modern technology reached 30%. Only 7% of Vietnam's metal processing and industrial products are domestically manufactured, and the remaining 93% are imported. Among imported products, machine tools and spare parts account for the largest proportion. Vietnam is the fifth largest motorcycle producer in the world, and its motorcycle parts market has great potential. In order to increase industrial competitiveness and add value to export products, the role of machine tools is crucial. Vietnam's industry is developing rapidly, resulting in a huge demand for machines, equipment and technological solutions. It is expected that Vietnam will take some policy measures that will have a significant positive impact on the metal processing industry, including the introduction of zero tariffs on imported machine tools. The metalworking industry in Vietnam is also expected to grow substantially in the coming years due to strong growth in some important industries such as shipbuilding, electrical and electronics, automotive, etc. Vietnam's goal is to develop into an industrialized country by 2020. Manufacturing companies in the country are keen to adopt modern machinery and technical solutions to improve production capacity and product quality. This also provides opportunities for machine tool manufacturers from other countries to enter this market.