economic situation
Weakness in mechanical engineering continues
October also does not bring the hoped-for turnaround in orders. Because there are no orders, many systems are not being used to capacity. This is reflected in the industry’s annual forecast.
The slump in orders among Germany’s mechanical and plant manufacturers continues. In October, price-adjusted orders fell short of the previous year’s level by nine percent, as the industry association VDMA announced. “For the first ten months of the current year, orders are now down by a total of eight percent,” said VDMA chief economist Ralph Wiechers. “It remains the case that customers in mechanical engineering are very reluctant to make new investments.”
For months, the weak economy has been causing problems for the industry, which employs more than 1.2 million people in Germany alone. Demand in important sales markets such as China and the USA is weak, trade conflicts could escalate and make the situation even worse. There are also concerns about the competitiveness of Germany as a location.
Gloomy prospects for the year as a whole
In September, the VDMA significantly lowered its expectations for the year as a whole: Since then, the association has assumed that price-adjusted production will be around eight percent below the previous year’s level. For 2025, the VDMA is expecting a production decline of two percent.
In October of the current year there was at least a ray of hope when it came to domestic orders: local mechanical and plant manufacturers recorded three percent more new orders than a year ago. However, domestic business was particularly weak in the same month last year.
In contrast, orders from abroad in October this year were 14 percent below the level of October 2023. At that time, companies had benefited from large orders, as the Association of German Mechanical and Plant Engineering (VDMA) explained.
dpa
Source: Stern
