Japan's robot-makers show high tech no defense against trade war

Fanuc's second profit warning reflects continentwide slowdown

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20191030 Fanuc Shanghai.jpg

Chinese visitors talk next to a robot arm of Fanuc on display in Shanghai: the company's corporate fingers are on the pulse of Asian supply chains. © Imaginechina/AP

No single company can act as an economic indicator for a region, but Japanese robotics maker Fanuc comes close. Its recent profit warning is telling us that collateral damage from the U.S.-China trade war is spreading wider and faster than many investors suspected.

Yamanashi-based Fanuc cut its full-year profit and sales targets as fallout from the U.S.-China trade war grew fast. It trimmed the former by 3.1% to about $635 million, well short of the $940 million estimated by analysts.

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