Incoming orders in February in the mechanical engineering sector remained overall at the previous year’s level (plus/minus 0 percent). The domestic market (minus 6 percent) could not build upon the momentum of January. On the other hand, foreign demand rose once again (by 3 percent), mainly due to business with EURO partner countries. The scope of orders booked rose slightly compared to October 2016 from 5.8 to 5.9 months.

“It is not too unusual in our industry to stagnate after an extraordinarily high increase in the previous month. And even the high results of many sentiment indicators do not change the fact that, according to experience, it takes a few months until this can be seen in hard facts, meaning investments and orders,” says Dr. Ralph Wiechers, VDMA Chief Economist. In the three-month comparison (December to February), incoming orders fell by 3 percent in real terms compared to the previous year. On the other hand, an increase of 3 percent was recorded in domestic orders, while orders from abroad dropped by 6 percent.