Economy
Thick order minus for electrical industry
Fewer orders, less production, less sales: Germany’s electrical and digital manufacturers have had a difficult year. The view is not really better.
The German electrical and digital industry completed the year 2024 with an order minus and continues to expect difficult business. Orders remained 9.6 percent below the value of 2023, as the Zvei industry association in Frankfurt announced.
It was particularly bad in December: In the month, companies recorded 19.5 percent fewer orders than a year earlier. The decline was about twice as high as on average the previous eleven months. Both in December and in 2024, the minus when ordering domestic orders was significantly larger than with the orders from abroad.
“While only 14 or 10 percent of electrical companies are currently complaining about a shortage of skilled workers and materials, 54 percent are affected by a lack of order,” said Zvei chief economist Andreas Gontermann.
Industry also expects 2025 declining production
The production of electrical engineering and electronic products “Made in Germany”, which was adjusted for price effects, was 9.1 percent lower than a year earlier in 2024. For 2025, the ZVEI assumes a real production decline of two percent according to the current forecast.
There were also losses for the industry with 892,000 employees in Germany: according to preliminary figures, it was 6.2 percent below the recorder proceeds of 2023 with EUR 223.2 billion.
Zvei orders 12/2024 and total year 2024
dpa
Source: Stern
