Japanese export growth slows in April

Japanese export growth slows in April

JAPANESE motorcycle manufacturer exports to Europe slowed down in April, with exports of 250cc+ machines up by 1.5 percent (13,847 units) after being up by 19.5 percent (19,179 units) in March.

This means that motorcycle exports to Europe by the Big Four Japanese manufacturers have shown growth for seven straight months. In 2013 annual 250cc+ exports of 130,455 were down from the 147,377 seen in 2012, but the final three months of last year and the first three months of 2014 have seen strong monthly growth percentages.
In total PTW terms, exports to Europe were actually down a little in April, at -1.9 percent (14,292 units), also following six months of strong growth.
Total PTW Japanese manufacturer exports to Europe were 147,965 in 2013, and 163,533 in 2012; a long way down from the peak of 663,662 total PTW imports from Japan in 1999 (motorcycle imports from Japan in 1999 448,051 units).
While it remains to be seen what macro-economic impacts lie ahead for Europe in the context of the increasing concerns surrounding deflationary pressures, it is to be hoped that these latest Japanese manufacturer statistics do not contradict prior analyst forecasts that their dealers have seen nine years of decline stabilising.