TMBA Unlocks Insights on Machine Tool Industry's Global Outlook and 2024 Forecast

Taipei City, Taiwan – The Taiwan Machine Tool and Accessory Builders’ Association (TMBA) held the ‘TMTS 2024 & Machine Tool Annual Outlook Press Conference’ recently for the ‘Taiwan International Machine Tool Show’ (TMTS, Taiwan Machine Tool Show) to be held in March this year, on the one hand, to conduct pre-show publicity and, at the same time, to announce the annual production and sales status of the machine tool industry and the outlook for the year 2024.

According to TMBA, the economic performance of some countries and industrial markets is expected to be excellent in 2024, but it is estimated that more than 70 countries in the world will hold national elections this year. In addition, geopolitical interference, the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has yet to be resolved, and the green carbon reduction policies of various countries may have various degrees of impact on domestic exports of machine tools and accessory builders, and it is necessary to pay attention to the development of the future.

As regards the forecast of Taiwan’s main export markets for machine tools in 2024, the rising inflation and interest rates in 2023 will make US consumption tighten and investment in equipment assets become more conservative, coupled with the US presidential election to be held this year, which is slightly more variable. In the European market, despite slowing inflation and economic recovery, the energy crisis has not been resolved, and the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has begun to levy a carbon tariff, which has slowed the recovery in consumer demand for machine tools. China’s market is affected by the real estate market bubble, a lack of public consumer confidence, and other issues, resulting in sluggish demand for private investment, which in turn affects the willingness to purchase equipment. On the other hand, India, Vietnam, and Thailand in Southeast Asia are benefiting from post-pandemic supply chain restructuring, production relocation, and rising domestic manufacturing demand, which has led to a significant increase in demand for machine tools.

The theme of the TMTS 2024 exhibition is ‘Dual Axis Intelligent Manufacturing for a Sustainable Future’.

From March 27-31, 2024, TMTS 2024 will be held at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Halls 1 and 2. The show will run for five days, with more than 600 exhibitors, 3,350 booths, and more than 10 overseas buyers registered for the show, which is expected to attract 55,000 visitors.

The theme of this year’s exhibition is ‘Dual Axis Intelligent Manufacturing for a Sustainable Future’, focusing on the ten elements of the two main axes of Digital Transformation (DX) and Green Transformation (GX), which correspond to the future development trend of the industry. To demonstrate the characteristics of the industry ecosystem, the booth arrangement is based on the solution of the machine tool industry ecosystem as the main axis of the exhibition, and visitors can quickly search for exhibitors’ key points through the exhibition app.

In the area of digital transformation, TMBA collaborated with the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW) and the German Machine and Plant Construction (VDMA) to set up Umati special showcase section for the first time at a domestic machine tool exhibition, and more than 20 domestic machine tool and component manufacturers responded to the event by showcasing their intelligent ecosystems across multiple venues.

In the area of green transformation, the ‘Green Machine Energy Label Assessment’ will encourage exhibitors to develop energy-saving equipment or energy-saving accessories, and to demonstrate their green transformation efforts through different levels of labels. During the exhibition, a series of forums will be held, inviting experts from Taiwan and abroad to share their views on key issues such as digital transformation, green transformation, and talent cultivation for the industry, as well as organizing visits by students from domestic universities and colleges.

Image Source: TMBA