Sales revive in the first quarter German tool industry: Decline in orders halted for time being

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AMETEK GmbH Division Creaform Deutschland

Verein Deutscher Werkzeug- maschinenfabriken e. V. (VDW)

Despite financial burdens and economic weaknesses, there is a halt in the downward trend of orders for German machine tools, particularly from abroad, driven by non-euro countries and large-scale orders. The industry is experiencing a reduction in difficulties due to factors like the end of China's zero-Covid policy and easing supply chain tensions.

Orders received by the German machine tool industry in the first quarter of 2023 were eleven percent down in nominal terms on the same period last year. Orders from Germany declined by 18 percent whereas those from abroad fell by eight percent. Overall, this represents a decline of 17 percent in real terms.

“However, given the many financial burdens — such as the energy crisis, high inflation, increased interest rates and the overall weakness of the economy — it is encouraging to note that the latest figures from March show a halt in the downward trend in orders,” says Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association), Frankfurt am Main, commenting on the results. Orders from abroad are proving much more stable than those from the domestic market. Impetus is coming in particular from the non-euro countries, where large-scale orders are playing an important role, he notes.

“Overall, we are seeing a decline in the difficulties which our industry has had to contend with,” Schäfer explains. China has ended its zero-Covid policy. Supply chain tensions are now beginning to ease. This is allowing key customer sectors such as the automotive industry to produce more again. This had suffered above all from the lack of microchips. As a result, sales picked up again in the first quarter. The increase of 20 percent, or eleven percent in real terms, reflects the positive factors.

Regardless of the current economic situation, numerous developments are leading to raised levels of investment: the ongoing trend toward automation, increasing digitalization, booming electromobility, the build-up of capacity in the critical infrastructure triad (e.g. chips, batteries), extensive investment in climate protection (e.g. heat pumps), the expansion of renewable energy sources, and rising defense spending.

“We are expecting orders to stabilize in the second half of the year,” says Schäfer. A major advantage right now is the ongoing and sizeable backlog of orders stretching ahead almost twelve months. According to the latest forecast, this will enable production to grow by the same amount in 2023 as in the previous year, i.e. a ten percent increase to 15.5 billion euros.

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