2026.04.1500:12:36UTC+00Japan Machinery Orders Unexpectedly Rise

Japan’s core machinery orders — which exclude volatile components such as ships and electric power — rose 13.6% month-over-month in February 2026 to JPY 1,115.9 billion. This marked a sharp rebound from the 5.5% decline recorded in January and far exceeded market expectations for a 1.1% decrease.

Orders from manufacturers surged 30.7% to JPY 569.5 billion, supported by broad-based gains across major industries. Notable increases were seen in non-ferrous metals (419.1%), shipbuilding (127.7%), chemicals and chemical products (91.6%), other transport equipment (57.2%), pulp, paper and paper products (30.1%), autos, parts and accessories (20.9%), and petroleum and coal products (17.3%).

In contrast, non-manufacturing orders registered a more modest rise of 0.8% to JPY 568.4 billion, slowing from the 6.8% growth seen in January.

On a year-on-year basis, core machinery orders climbed 24.7%, accelerating sharply from 13.7% in the previous month and comfortably beating market forecasts of 8.5%.