2021_1q_omron_e

36/37 - Questioner(4)

Questioner 4: Could you talk about your customers’ appetite for FA capex? Is there appetite for capex not related to capacity expansion? For example, are you seeing inquiries for preventative maintenance projects or new investments? A. (Takeda): Customer capex appetite varies somewhat by industry. We are seeing strong capex appetite in the Digital industry, supported by the tailwind of 5G. In Automotive, there are 2 divergent trends: capex appetite for EV/ADAS-related investments is strong, but appetite for upgrade investments for conventional internal combustion engine vehicles is limited. For the latter, customers are taking a wait-and-see approach. For Food & Beverage/Pharmaceutical, which we refer to as Essential businesses, capex appetite remains firm. Given these differences it is not possible to generalize for manufacturing as a whole.