According to the 2025 Jan-Dec statistics for Taiwan’s machine tool imports and exports, total exports reached US$2.004 billion, a 9.6% decrease year-on-year, while total imports amounted to US$643 million, representing a 16.4% increase compared to the same period last year. Statistics for Taiwan's key machine tool components from January to December 2025 show that total exports were US$1.506 billion, a slight decrease of 0.3% year-on-year, whereas total imports rose to US$197 million, a 10.5% increase compared to the previous year.

Since September 2024, the Federal Reserve has begun cutting interest rates, aiming to boost consumption and investment, which positively impacts machine tool demand. However, a weaker U.S. dollar may erode Taiwan’s export competitiveness. Trump’s return to power and proposed high tariffs and currency interventions could trigger a new U.S.-China trade war, creating global economic uncertainty and challenges for Taiwan’s machine tool exports. While short-term recovery opportunities exist, long-term growth depends on leveraging AI and ESG trends to explore new markets and achieve technological breakthroughs.

The 2024 AMB Stuttgart Metalworking Exhibition focused on the automotive industry’s transition to electric vehicles. Machine tool manufacturers showcased automation solutions integrating robotic arms to enhance flexibility and efficiency. Four major trends emerged: intelligent automation, robotic applications, integration of inspection instruments, and highly scalable production lines. Exhibitors demonstrated advanced technologies such as AI, sensors, and digital twin applications, along with unmanned production and flexible manufacturing cells, delivering customized and efficient solutions for evolving manufacturing needs.

IMTS 2024 in Chicago featured 1,737 exhibitors and over 89,000 visitors, focusing on additive manufacturing, smart automation, and AI applications. Highlights included Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s hybrid manufacturing platform, Apptronik’s humanoid robot Apollo, and the world’s first 3D-printed car. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon showcased AI-driven and cloud-based collaborative solutions, while machine tool manufacturers emphasized five-axis machining, automation, and green energy-saving technologies. Several new machining centers and digital transformation solutions were introduced, reflecting the industry’s dual transformation toward advanced manufacturing and intelligent integration.

This article explores the necessity and trends of AI adoption in manufacturing under the wave of smart transformation. AI enhances flexibility, predictive capabilities, and complex data processing, with applications in supply chain management, scheduling optimization, defect detection, and customer analysis. It highlights generative AI as a solution for data scarcity and provides a four-stage roadmap for AI implementation: ideation, design, validation, and execution. These strategies help manufacturers reduce costs, improve efficiency, and accelerate digital transformation toward intelligent factories.

Since May 2024, Mainland China has suspended tariff concessions under ECFA for certain machine tool products, impacting Taiwan’s export competitiveness. Previously, the Early Harvest List helped boost Taiwan’s market share in China, but import substitution policies and slower economic growth have reduced market size. The four suspended items account for over 40% of Taiwan’s ECFA-listed exports to China, creating a significant impact. Taiwanese manufacturers must increase local production in China and actively expand into the U.S., ASEAN, EU, and North American markets, while aligning with ESG trends and promoting energy-saving and carbon reduction to maintain global competitiveness.