South Korea's machine tool output fell 36.4% year-on-year in October

The latest statistics from the Korea Machine Tool Manufacturers Association (KOMA) show that in October 2009, the country's machine tool output value was 134.928 billion won, down 17.2% month-on-month and 36.4% year-on-year. From January to October this year, the cumulative value of machine tools produced in South Korea was 1,340.912 billion won. In terms of orders, in the single month of October, South Korea's new machine tool orders were 229.937 billion won, a month-on-month increase of 12.52% and a year-on-year increase of 11.1%. In the first 10 months, the cumulative machine tool orders were 1,505.775 billion won. In terms of import and export trade, in the single month of October, South Korea imported 88.875 million US dollars of machine tools, down 10.37% month-on-month and 10.2% year-on-year; exported machine tools 66.925 million dollars, down 29.79% month-on-month and 58.9% year-on-year. From January to October, South Korea imported a total of 875.56 million US dollars of machine tools, and exported a total of 923.38 million US dollars of machine tools. Data show that, affected by the global economic downturn, South Korea's exports to the United States, Europe and emerging markets have decreased significantly, while exports to China have risen slightly, and China is still the largest exporter of Korean machine tools.