KOAMI Publishes 2004 Machinery Industry Handbook and Annual Report The Korea Association of Machinery Industry (KOAMI) said June 4 it has published ‘2004 Machinery Industry Handbook‘ and ‘2004 Annual Report on Machinery Industry Trade Statistics‘which to sum up the statistics on the Korean and overseas machinery industry, the first ever in Korea. The machinery industry handbook, brought out in a total volume of 410 pages (5x7), has been edited in a way to find the related statistics at single glance on each field of overseas as well as domestic machinery industry over the past about 10 years. Especially, this handbook, which contains the statistics related to the overseas machinery industry, offering all data for an analysis through their comparison to those on the domestic machinery industry, is expected to be utilized as the basic data for the study on the related industry's competitiveness, policy developments and corporate management. The handbook is divided into 3 chapters: the chapter #1 for the domestic statistics contains ‘general economic indexes‘such as industrial output, labor and wages, commodity prices, trades and inbound technology transfers. The machinery industry statistics encompasses all statistical data related to the domestic machinery industry such as business entities and their numbers of employees, output, shipment, trade and facility investment. The chapter #2 relates to the overseas statistics including those on the machinery industry of 6 competitors including Japan and the U.S., and the chapter #3, which deals with the trade statistics, comprises the Korean machinery and the world's 8 key nations' trade figures as well. In addition to the statistical data, the handbook lays out the Korean Standard Industrial Classification (KSIC) and the Harmonized System of Korea (HSK) in a table throughout the book, systemizes the classification of the machinery industry for easy identification and the appendix contains the related laws and regulations such as ‘Industrial Development Act‘ related to the machinery industry and ‘Special Measure Act concerning the Fostering of Enterprises Specializing in Parts and Materials.‘ The machinery industry trade statistics in a total volume of 300 pages in 4 x 6 size shows the trend of the Korea's exports and imports of machinery by business type and that of the 8 major competing nations including Japan, the performance of trades between each of them and Korea, the performance of their exports and imports with them over the past ten years together with the comparison and analysis thereon. ‘The machinery industry had recorded a chronic U.S.$10 billion deficit in trades prior to the foreign exchange crisis, but turned around to a U.S.$10 billion-scale surplus in trades starting in 1998, laying the groundwork for overcoming the foreign exchange crisis early to make stable economic growth,‘ an official at the KOAMI said, explaining, ‘To maintain the basis for sustained export growth, the annual report on trade, issued this time, would be helpful as the basic data for having a grasp on overseas markets and analyzing competitiveness.‘ The KOAMI is distributing the 2004 issue of the Machinery Industry Handbook and the Annual Report on Machinery Industry Trade to its member firms for free, making it possible for those other than its members to subscribe for the books at cost price. parkjy@snmnews.com