China, chips offset tariffs for Japan machine tool, factory robot makers

TOKYO -- Japanese suppliers of machine tools and factory robot parts largely expect to shrug off the pain from U.S. tariffs thanks to resurgent demand from China as well as the semiconductor industry.

Overall orders for machine tools rose 8% on the year in April to 130.2 billion yen ($894 million), according to Thursday's preliminary numbers from the Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association (JMTBA). Although domestic orders were down 5%, overseas orders jumped 13% to 95.7 billion yen.