Mechanical engineering: Order drop of 9 percent in the first half of the year

Mechanical engineers in Germany recorded a significant drop in their order books in the first six months of the current year. In the first half of 2019, they posted an order decline of 9 percent in real terms compared to the previous year, with the same amount at home and abroad. "This decline is due to the weaker global economy, the numerous mostly politically motivated upheavals and the profound structural change in the automotive industry," explained VDMA economic expert Olaf Wortmann.

In June 2019, new orders in the German mechanical engineering industry fell short of the previous year's level by 5 percent in real terms. While domestic orders fell by 16 percent in the month under review, orders from abroad were able to maintain their already very high level of the previous year. "Surprising is the number of large orders from non-euro countries. It was already high in June 2018 and has risen again, resulting in a plus of 2 percent for orders from non-euro countries. It is extremely rare that an already high level of the previous year can be maintained in the large-scale facilities, let alone expanded, "said Wortmann. By contrast, mechanical engineers in the eurozone posted an order backlog of 9 percent in June.

In the three-month period from April to June 2019, the weakening mechanical engineering boom also showed itself clearly, orders fell by 8 percent compared to the previous year. Domestic orders fell by 12 percent, foreign orders fell by 6 percent. Orders from the eurozone countries shrank by 7 percent, while orders from non-euro countries fell 5 percent.