— Japan Sep Core Machine Orders -4.3% M/M; MNI Fcast -2.1%
— Japan Q4 Core Machine Orders Seen +5.0% Q/Q
— Japan Q3 Core Machine Orders -1.1% Q/Q
— Japan Sep Core Machine Orders Post 2nd Straight Fall
— Japan Govt: Machine Order Weaker But Fluctuating Trend Unchanged
— Japan Sep Core Machinery Order -7.8% Y/Y Vs Aug -6.1%
— Japan Oct Machine Orders From Overseas Flat M/M; Aug -14.7%
— Japan Oct Orders From Manufacturers +2.8% M/M Vs Aug -15.1%
— Japan Oct Orders From Non-Manufacturers +1.3% M/M Vs Aug +3.6%

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s core private-sector machinery orders fell at a
faster-than-expected pace in September as the economy is slipping into a
downturn amid the global slump, data from the Cabinet Office showed on Thursday.

Core orders — which exclude volatile demand from electric utilities and
for ships — dropped 4.3% on the month in September, a second straight fall,
following a 3.3% decline in August.

The September fall was more than double the median forecast in an MNI
survey of economists for a 2.1% decline.

The decline in core orders was widespread ranging from the car and
electronics industries to construction and farming.

Orders from manufacturers including those for ships rebounded 2.8% in
September on the month following a 15.1% drop in the previous month.

Meanwhile, orders from non-manufacturers including a 208.0% jump in those
from power companies marked a second straight rise, up 1.3% after increasing
3.6%.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, core orders are projected to rise 5.0% from
the previous quarter for the first rise in three quarters following a 1.1%
decline in July-September.

The third quarter result was weaker than the official forecast for a 1.2%
decline.

The Cabinet Office tweaked its assessment but didn’t downgrade it, saying
that “machinery orders have been weaker recently but the trend is that they are
showing ups and downs.”

In the previous month’s report, it said that “machinery orders are now
showing ups and downs.”

Japan’s economy continues to face the global slump, the fallout from the
territorial dispute with China over small islands and slower domestic demand.

In September, the government ended subsidies for buying low-emission
vehicles as the budget for the program was used up.

As a result, new vehicle sales in Japan posted a second straight decline in
October after posting the first annual in 13 months in September, according to
industry data.

Japanese exports tumbled for a third straight month in September, down by
10.3% on year and industrial output dropped 4.1% in September for a third
straight decline, amid growing uncertainties about overseas demand, particularly
from China and Europe, government data have shown.

From a year earlier, core private machinery orders fell 7.8% in September,
a second straight fall, following a 6.1% decline in August.

Offshore orders, which are not part of core orders, were flat in September
from the previous month following a 14.7% fall in September.

–email: yseki@mni-news.com
–email: msato@mni-news.com

[TOPICS: MAJDS$,M$A$$$,M$J$$$,MT$$$$]