Even though the overall 2% fall in sales of Taiwanese machinery, corresponding to a value of around 630 million dollars, is deemed acceptable by sector operators, it has to set against the over 14% increase recorded in 2011. The drop in sales has been particularly marked in sectors like injection moulding (-17%).
At a rough estimate, the members of the Taiwanese association of plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers alone produce around 15000 injection moulding machines per year, which is around five times the amount sold in the United States and also greater than the  12500 produced by Japanese companies. Around 80% of their production is exported. It is particularly worth noting the figures illustrating the trend in Taiwanese exports to countries like China (-7.5%), Vietnam (-18%), and India (-40%).
On the other hand, other countries, such as Thailand (+48%) and Indonesia (+4.5%) are currently importing more from Taiwan. It should be borne in mind that the surge in sales on the Thai market could be due to the fact that many companies there are having to replace machinery severely damaged during last year's floods. According to representatives of the Taiwanese machinery manufacturers' association, the decline in sales recorded by its members is to be considered a normal effect of the global crisis affecting all sectors of the economy. The association also believes that it is necessary to step up efforts to penetrate the emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.